Done

 

1.5 cubic yards of compost is about 40 bags. That was more than enough to cover two large flower beds, with some left over. 

Jeiser was unloading and spreading alone yesterday, and after a couple of hours I took pity went out to help with the last few wheelbarrows while he got started on on the hedge. 

It was hard work but satisfying, and I stopped right before my back gave out. The ignorant Apple Watch doesn't give you credit for honest gardening exercise, so I logged it under "mixed cardio."

Jesier did a good job on the inside of the hedge, and said he would come back next year. He's a nice young man and said his cousins and uncles all work in various trades, so he could be a good source for referrals. Something always needs to be done around here. 

Going to be a beautiful weekend, with record warm temperatures. Then wham, the rain returns early next week. Sunday is Maya's 11th birthday, but we'll miss it this year-- we have a Symphony. 

Have a good weekend.

Mum display

 

A perfect ball of bloom courtesy of Costco, glowing in the slanting October sun. An ancient flower and according Wiki, chrysanthemums were first grown in China in the 15th century BC. 

Relatively easy and rewarding to cultivate, there are now over 20,000 varieties. They come in an amazing variety of sizes and shapes, which usually happens when humans take on artificial breeding. Think dogs.

Mums symbolize different things in different cultures. In some parts of Europe, they represent death and are used only on graves. 

D.H. Lawrence wrote a short story called "The Odor of Chrysanthemums" which talked about the "cold, deathly smell" in the room after the coal miner’s body is brought home. (Don't read unless you are already depressed.) But here in the U.S. mums are just anther cheerful fall flower. 

What else is new? The stores are full of Halloween stuff, in some places already cheek-to-jowl with Christmas. I found this weird little terracotta pumpkin head at the Goodwill, and can't decide if it's cute or just creepy on my desk. Probably why someone gave it away.

Last but not least, here's what crispy tacos should look like. You know those hard shells that shatter into pieces with the first bite? If you take the trouble to hand fry corn tortillas, which I seldom do, wow what a difference. Especially filled with leftover spiced-up sirloin steak.

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Hot stuff

 

Our potted Cayenne pepper produced this nice little bag of beauties. Just one does the trick to liven up a stir fry, and they keep in the freezer for months. The fruits of our labor and a ton of watering.

The garden is winding down and greening up at the same time, unique to our Northwest climate. The flower beds sprouting weeds and my compost guy brings a load on Thursday for mulch. He was also eager to work on the big laurel hedge, God bless him.

Mr. Nguyen trimmed it right before we had the fence built, which was too early because it looks all raggedly again. I've been loyal to Mr. Nguyen, but he's become lackadaisical about keeping the top down and the line straight on the inside. He also tends to be very opinionated, which gets old. Anyway, each year the bulges got worse and now the beast probably needs chainsaw work and a long, ugly convalescence. 

So we'll find out what stuff young Jesier is made of-- that hedge has tested many a trimmer.

The best for last

 

Our Spartan dwarf apples aren't ripe until early October, and by then the worms have usually got to them. So I was surprised to still find some nice ones, and took this box over to our neighbors. Also made one of these:

Yet another pie picture on the blog. Instead of a labor intensive butter crust, I used the Jiffy pie crust mix in that little box, our mom's favorite pie hack. Between the homegrown fruit and the crust, it tasted exactly like one of her pies.

On Sunday afternoon, we went to a National Geographic Live lecture at Benaroya Hall downtown. The Symphony gave us free tickets, so why not? 

The presentation was called "The Beginning of Us" by paleoanthropologist Lee Berger. In 2008, he made a monumental find in a truly claustrophobic African cave--a new hominid species that made tools, art, and even buried its dead. What was most fascinating is this different species lived "only" 250,000 years ago, the same time as our modern human ancestors. Naturally, in the cutthroat academic world, this is all up for argument.

To counterbalance the educational portion of the weekend, we ate pie and watched a silly old Bob Hope movie last night. Tonight, of course, is Monday Night Football. All attention on the Seahawks now. The Mariners, our baseball team, didn't even make the playoffs.

It was an absolute stunner of a fall weekend in the Northwest. Tom took this postcard picture of Maya in the North Cascades near Washington Pass, on a hike with friends. Amanda is still working in Pt. Townsend, but gets back to Twisp later this week for a well-deserved home break. The girls and Tom will be so glad to see her!

 

Shine on

 

Harvest Moon, by George Manson

It's going to be a perfect fall weekend with crisp, sunny weather. The skies cleared out in time for the full harvest moon, also a Super Moon. 

Today is Chinese Moon Festival, the holiday for sharing beautiful moon cakes.

Moon cakes are always served in slices to show off the fancy fillings. They are also very rich. Everyone should try a moon cake-- once. Years ago, John's generous co-workers gave him an entire box. They last a long, long time ;-)

The crust is usually made with lard, and inside there's a thick filling of bean paste (or other things) along with yolks from salted duck eggs. That unusual combination of sweet, bland and salty so strange to American palates.  

Have a good weekend. Over to Rosie: