FRUSTRATION!

Hurricane Irene came through here one week ago and one week ago we lost power.

We still have no power and despite having a generator running from our buried propane tanks we have been roughing it. The generator powers the well, hot water, freezer, refrigerator, cable/internet, some lights and the stove top. We have no laundry so its now two weeks of dirty clothes. No oven or microwave so I'm learning to use only the stovetop. No dishwasher. No overhead lights in the great room. No lights in the powder room or guest bathroom.

We turn the generator off at 10 pm and back on at 6 am. That's tricky at that time of night but a headlamp helps. The refrigerator temperature climbs during the night and especially so when I don't quite get the door closed. Yes, that happened last night and the milk soured and I don't know what else went bad. I quickly put the meat into the freezer and I'm hoping for miracles there.

Our power company said everyone would be restored on Friday by 11:30 pm though there would be some scattered outages continued until Saturday. Well, we are the continued outage along with several thousand others. Now they say Saturday evening. We'll see about that.

Totally frustrated at this point.

Yikes - Another Harvest Monday - and Not Much to Show!

Production in the garden has slowed immensely. The sun is moving south which means the tall tulip poplar trees are shading the garden during mid day. The garden gets the first morning sun then later afternoon sun but decreasing sun is taking its toll.

Here's what I found in the garden when we returned from our vacation in Maine. I guess my teen aged watering team didn't pick anything the week before. Or maybe they did and left me the sorrier looking tomatoes.


On Tuesday I picked green beans and used all my tomatoes to make a sauce for dinner.


That's it! I know there will be more beans out there and there are peppers to be picked. I have a late butternut squash that I hope will grow to maturity. But the tomatoes need to be pulled for they are done for the season.

Look for better harvests at Daphne's Dandelions.

Irene - Before, During, and After

We were on the west side of Hurricane Irene and we are grateful to be spared the major force of its strength. Before it even all began to blow the birds knew something was coming. They were visiting my birdfeeders and my seed producing flowers. I caught this goldfinch outside my bedroom window feasting on the purple cone flower.


We weren't designated a Red Cross Shelter and during the storm we had two uninvited evacuees try to take refuge with us. The first was spotted in the hall and captured in a closet. It was sent packing to the woods. The second pictured below, was found "reading" the AARP Magazine on the hearth.


It was also captured under glass and sent on its way to the designated animal shelter in the woods. Both of them were young things so we wondered where the parents were. Maybe those were the mice captured not so nicely earlier in the week on the porch.

So now here we are after the storm, assessing the damage, waiting on the power to be restored though thankfully the generator is doing its function extremely well and for once the cable/internet has not gone down.

On the north side of the house there are more leaves littering than on the south. I've heard trees fall in the woods but will not investigate until the wind has subsided for good. Other than that the damage is minimal and fixable.

One bright spot in the perennial garden is the Pavonia sent to me by HolleyGarden of Roses and Other Gardening Joys. In fact she featured it as her all time favorite perennial for 2011. It has bloomed for the very first time in my garden. It's a lovely shade of pink and a miniature version of the hibiscus I have. I look forward to having it spread in years to come.

Visiting a Fellow Garden Blogger

On August 12th Dan and I had the chance to meet fellow garden blogger, Robin (on the left above) of The Garden of Eden. We were on our way to Maine on vacation and Robin graciously agreed to meet up with us for breakfast and a visit to her community garden plot. It was impressive. She has done an amazing amount of work in the season she has had this plot. Here are some photos.

Three sisters in the Native American tradition.

More varieties of tomatoes than I have ever seen together.

Thank you, Robin for the tour. It was really neat to meet you and see your handiwork.