A Kind of Murky October 2020 Saturday

Turkey Tracks: October 25, 2020

A Kind of Murky October 2020 Saturday

Look at my beautiful Haricot Beans: the deer ate all their tops last night.

They graciously left me the remaining beans.

We had what I call a “murky” day yesterday—cloudy, damp, and greyish, but it was warm.

As the drought is finally over, the earth is soft. I thought I’d get the garden plow barricade up for the winter. I try to do something for winter prep every day, and I’m slowly ticking off the chores. Is leaving the snow shovels in the garage a jinx or not? LOL.

This task looks easy, but the ground here is land-fill and rocky. It took a shovel AND the maddox to get the post holes deep enough for the posts to stay put.

I backed the posts with stakes, just to be sure. That crazy green ferny plant is asparagus, which has decided it really likes where it is now.

I’ve been putting newspaper through the shredder and using it to augment the compost bins—which need more “brown” material as they are too wet.

The small round tumbler compost below had gotten really wet and smelly. I’m hoping the newspaper will dry it out and that I will be able to use the mixture in the cold frame when I plant the lettuce for spring after we get reliably cold weather.

We had our LAST day ever at my local CSA farm (Community Shared Agriculture), Hope’s Edge this week. Farmer Tom is hanging up his green thumb now. He may recant over the winter and figure out a way to grow something for the local markets. Time will tell. He knew this year would be his last and announced that early on. This growing season was really hard for all our local farmers with the drought.

I cut up my Sunshine squash yesterday, but was not hungry at dinner as I had a big lunch. I had marinated it in good olive oil, fresh rosemary, and lots of garlic. Here’s what this squash looks like whole: it is the orange one in front. This squash is heavier and mealier than say, a butternut squash. But, when roasted, acquires the same sweet, caramelized tastiness.

To chunk up a squash with a thick skin, I first cut it in half, seed it, and then cut the halves into half rings. It is easy to slice off the outer skin with a sharp knife at that point, leaving the meat ready to chunk.

I’ve been trying to eat my big meal at noon these days as we move into winter. I grilled a steak to go with the squash, which I very nearly overcooked. That happens when one is whirling around doing multiple tasks. I added a few chips and goat cheese with dill to this meal.

Delicious, and such a nice treat after the heavier yard work.

Dinner was a lighter salad with reheated chicken drumsticks. Easy Peasy.