My take on the wedding

I thought I would post my take on the weekend although I echo many of the sentiments Lynn shared in her earlier post.
First of all, I did not post about all of the planning leading up to the wedding. In fact, I don't believe I ever referenced it at all before. To me it was a private thing and one that could not logistically be inclusive, so in an effort not to be rude, I decided to keep it on the down low. I would hate the thought of someone reading this to feel not included. With that said, now that the "big day" is over I feel a bit more at ease about sharing.
It is hard to put the weekend into words, just as it is difficult to capture the beauty of Lynn's gardens in photos, but I'll give it a go.
Watching the people I adore walking up our driveway to the back yard was one of my favorite moments. The looks on their faces as they rounded the corner, all sharing a similar theme, that of wonder. The eyes got wide, the mouths gaped open, their arms unfolded as they prepared for an incoming hug. Everyone of them child like for a brief moment in time. The word heaven was used liberally.This served as validation for us. (Not that Lynn and I are in need of that mind you, it was just nice to have)
Pulling up to the wedding tent in my beloved Kubota was another moment that sticks in my mind. Lynn and I sat in the bucket as Jim drove. The children danced up the aisle to meet our arrival. As we approached, people sprang to their feet smiling and laughing as they clapped. (Of course they would clap, it's a fabulous tractor. ;)) That moment was exactly how I envisioned it months before when planning this. It was, for me, success.
There are too many terrific moments to list quite frankly. The vows, the Lynn and Nora story, the heartfelt speeches, the overall joy. But I have to say my absolute favorite aspect of the entire weekend was to bear witness to the coming together of the friends and family we love. They all got along famously. Each telling us what a great group of people they were. (numerous requests for a reunion. Over my dead body, lol) I couldn't agree more. You can plan flawlessly for an event, but as I recently told a dear friend, people make the party. And Lynn and I are really lucky to know such amazing people.


Proud Mother of Ducklings and Wedding Planner(NOT)

Here is a photo from the service that I absolutely love. A friend shared this with us with the following caption, which I also love "Nora sweeps Lynn off her feet while Lynn keeps Nora on her toes." Tis true.

photo courtesy of Karen Mossow

Back to "Normal"

The decorations have been taken down, the tents have been removed, the leftover food has been tossed onto the compost pile, and the last of our guests have left...some sense of normalcy has returned to the old homestead.  I was expecting (dreading) a few days of post-holiday blues; the crash after the whirlwind and excitement. But the blues didn't materialize; just an overwhelming sense of gratitude that we have such marvelous friends and family, lots of recounting of funny and heartfelt moments from the weekend festivities, and perhaps a small sense of relief that the "big event" is over and we can now focus our energy and attention on enjoying what is left of the summer and preparing for our favorite time of year -- fall!

The last couple of evenings and mornings have been very cool -- jeans and hoodie cool -- and I felt a touch of late September in the air when I went out to tend to animals this morning.  The morning light is softer, the grass dew-covered and the sun languidly arrives around 5:30am, rather then 5.  Not perfect weather for my warmth-loving veggies such as tomatoes and peppers, but I find it difficult to complain.  I love fall mornings, even in late July.  But I've no doubt these cool temps are temporary and we will see a few more 80 degree days before the summer departs (although I have to say this has been a remarkably cool July with many days in the 70s) .

The vegetable garden is looking full and lovely with splashes of color from the borage, calendula, marigolds, zinnias and chamomile.  The beans are harvested daily, and I pulled some delicious looking carrots and beets from the garden the other day.  The squashes and cucumbers are also coming in.  It's hard to believe that it's already time to plant the fall crops.  If these cool evenings persist, they'll be blooming in no time.

How the tables have turned

Lynn wrote in a past post about putting the ducklings outside with Daisy2 and MadeIt. All has gone well for the most part. Except for the food. Daisy2 and MadeIt would take full advantage of their size and age and regularly help themselves to the duck's food. There was no deterring them. And then, one day, the ducklings got their groove on. The hens think better about stealing food now. I captured the girls walking out into the field to greet the hens. It is clear how the tables have turned. Clearly, these little girls take after me.

Proud Mother of Ducklings

Harvest Time

After all the hard work of planting, weeding, planting again (after the crows ate half the seedlings), and weeding some more in late May and June, harvest time has finally arrived.  Sure we do a little harvesting in June with the strawberries, raspberries, peas and lettuces, but this morning’s harvest included lettuce, green beans, 1 sizeable beet, and raspberries.  Had I been so inclined, I could have pulled some baby potatoes, carrots, garlic, swiss chard, cabbage and a variety of herbs from the garden as well. 

Early Wakefield cabbage ready to be harvested

As much as I complain about maintaining a vegetable garden, it is truly enjoyable to be able to harvest the bulk of our meals from the backyard (this morning was particularly lovely; no bugs, sunny, in the 60s and the birds were chatting away in the wood line).  Toss in some eggs from the hens, and some homemade bread and you have yourself a tasty meal!  Now if only I had a goat or two so I could make some delicious cheese to go along with it...just kidding.

This is just the beginning of the summer harvest. I expect the menu will have expanded by next week.  Many of the tomato plants are flowering, some of the early varieties like the Glaciers are already bearing fruit; the squash plants are loaded with baby zucchini and summer squash; the garlic will be harvested over the next couple of days and hung to cure; and I’m hoping to see some activity with the peppers and eggplant soon. 

Just as the harvesting, freezing and canning get in full swing, it will be time to plant the fall crops (usually by the last week in July/1^st week in August up here).  I need to build-in a little extra time in the growth cycle with the shorter days.  But I plan on planting butternut and acorn squash, rutabaga, cabbage, lettuces and another round of brussel sprouts (not sure my spring crop will produce soon enough to escape the heat of July and August and I’ve read that the vegetable, harvested in the height of summer, tends to taste bitter; this is my first year growing them, so I will find out).    

Baby brussel sprout buds

One of the more significant benefits from having your own garden (or subscribing to a CSA), in my mind, is that not only does it require you to incorporate a greater variety of vegetables into your diet, but it also requires some degree of creativity in cooking. I've found the most wonderful array of recipes for salads (who knew such things existed!), breads, quiches, vegetable side dishes, vegetarian entrees, etc. over the past 3 years with my own garden than I discovered in the previous 20+ years (granted, I despised cooking until about 4 years ago, so let's just say the motivation to seek out new and exciting recipes may have been a little lacking). 

Despite all of these positives, Nora and I are seriously considering hanging up our veggie growing caps next year.  Perhaps it was the added work of the wedding prep (handled primarily -- ok, almost completely -- by Nora), or the ever-expanding flower gardens that require attention, but regardless, we find our weekends have become giant to-do lists with very little time for spontaneous, non-work related fun.  Even simple things such as a trip to the bagel shop in Potsdam on a weekend morning guilt-free would be nice; and leisurely mornings spent reading and sipping coffee on the front porch or in the gazebo would be welcome.  We had such a morning last Sunday since it was stormy and Nora turned to me at one point and said "this was so nice; it was a normal-person's Sunday morning."  Not that either of us have ever been "normal," but you get the idea.  

More duck pics

So I decided to take some pics

Reach for it

Got my eye on you

Me too!

Before and After

Yesterday was spent finishing the weeding in the split rail bed and second shade bed.  I planted 10 sedums to complete the row, as well as 1 additional white rose bush.  No easy chore since that particular bed is akin to digging in a midden (archaeological term for garbage dump for anyone unfamiliar with the word) -- I have found leather soles from old boots, old milk bottles, tons of broken glass, unidentifiable bits of iron tools, old bricks, etc. as I have expanded this bed.

As many of you know, our house was built around 1860 and was a sizeable dairy farm at one time, as well as a small inn at the turn of the century.  It's easy to find the old rubbish sites (there were no "garbage services" until fairly recently) and building foundations based on the amount of stones and junk in the ground, as well as the types of plants that flourish if left to their own devices (such as sumacs).

At any rate, after much digging, pruning back wildly growing bittersweet vines, and weeding out a ton of small sprouts, nettles, etc., the beds were mulched and finally completed.

Before clean-up

After

Lilies galore

"Casablanca"

"Red Alert" -- really, that is its name

"Tiger Play"

The view down the split rail and into the shade garden.  Eventually the split rail bed will contain lilies and geranium sanguineum on the driveway side and white roses, aster, peonies and sedum on the yard side. The shade garden is already primarily astilbe, pinks, hosta and columbine.  I still need to dig out some especially stubborn orange day lilies that persist in returning despite my best efforts.

Lazy and rainy day

Today's temperature is a very welcome 70 something with a marvelous light rain. This comes after a week of unusually hot and humid ones. Mags and Wilma approve.

This morning's garden shots

Daisies with Lady's Mantle in foreground and cosmos in background

The lilies are beginning to bloom

 

Lilies are the perfect flower to have scattered throughout the garden; always an attention-getter

This morning

This morning's walk out to the sheep....

The circle garden

Jackmanii clematis in the arbor

Astilbe in the shade garden

 Finally, some signs of life in the vegetable garden.

Potatoes - hilled twice already, although you wouldn't know it

Scarlet runner beans; calendula and peppers

Squashes and geranium

Yellow and red onions with shallots

Lettuces, cabbage, cauliflower and sage

 With the sheep...

Tallulah and Delilah wondering where their hay is and why I have this black contraption in front of my face

Jem and Delilah happily eating.  They have an entire pasture of grass, where they spend parts of their day, but they are spoiled and like a little 2nd cut hay as an appetizer.