MARYANNESMAINELINE.THEDIRTCHEAPGARDENER.COM

And Another Thing

2009-09-28T23:22:00Z

Amazon.com Widgets

And Another Thing....

I've gathered, from secretive looks andsurreptitious rolled eyes, that I've a pretty big soapbox, so I might as well get started.

When you are buying a house,we all know it's important to choose a home that suits your personal um, world view (the Germans have a much more sophisticated word for it,but I'd never get the spelling right). A brand spanking new or nearly new house comes "turnkey" and requires less involvement or sweat on your part. Cut the grass, maybe feed and mulch the plants- you're good to go.

But if you should happen into an old house, one with history and personality, you owe it to the house,and to future owners (who might actually "love" the house and not just view it as a steppingstone to bigger and better things), to walk gently and softly on land that is just temporarily yours. These great old places, they kind of belong to all of us,and you are but a temporary caretaker of a piece of our history.

So take your time with "fixit" projects. You may discover interesting things about your "new" old house. When I moved into this house, I noticed in a far corner of the computer room something that looked like a piece of loose wallpaper. Well, you know how that is. I just had to get up there and give it a tug. Imagine my delight when half the wall poured down on my head! Thus I learned about horsehair plaster. I spent weeks refinishing the walls in this room. Easily avoided if I'd gone slowly, and breathed. Deeply.

Amazon.com Widgets

The same goes for outside.Wonderful surprises await you if you forbear plowing everything under and laying sod. I'm still learning the names of some of the lovely plants that grow wild here in places missed by the mower: meadow sweet,bee balm, lupine, black-eyed susan.I like to picture Betty, a woman who was born in this house and now lives in a local assisted living facility, and how pleased she'd be by the many discoveries I've made as I've listened and paid attention to what my little place in the world will say if I walk gently (and breathe. Deeply.) But that's a story for another day.

What I'd like this day is to know whose bright idea it was to lay two levels of plastic, covered by tons of gray sharp nasty rocks, all the way around the dooryard of my 160 year-old house. In Maine, nobody uses the front door except for weddings and funerals. Lots of places have no steps to their front door, and most don't have a path or a walk. So your side door becomes your "front" door, so to speak. I'm sure it all has to do with the lovely weather with which we are blessed in Maine- in California they say there are four seasons: fire, drought, flood, and earthquake. It's similar in Maine: snow, mud, sand and snow.

It seems to me an entryway ought to be attractive, with grass and green things, not some rocked-over place that looks like the entry to the town utility plant. If you truly have a black thumb, hire some high school kid to plant and maintain for you; or, if you must, put in some nice brickwork or deck thingy. But tossing tons of little nasty rocks onto a space that should be warm and inviting? Honestly!

Sore claiming this nightmare into a garden has become one of my more charming tasks. It's very nearly a Sisyphean job-and I'll share all the gory detail next time.

The Bird Feeder

2009-09-28T23:20:00Z

photo: freedigitalphotos.net

Amazon.com Widgets

The Bird Feeder

I always loved the idea of feeding birds, and watching them collect and flutter around the feeder. Now that I'm never moving again (please, oh please), just outside my kitchen window seemed the perfect place to setup a feeder. Easy-- buy one of those shepherd's crook thingys, and a feeding station, load it, set it up, and Wa-La! Birds!

Well, not exactly. The first year or so hardly anybody came. I knew what I needed: a neon sign flashing "FREE EATS HERE!". I don't think they really make those, actually.

No, I must be patient and Zen about this. So I added a thistle feeder to the crook (songbirds love thistle), and practiced deep breathing.

The second year, many visitors came, but it was clear they were just sampling the fare. Keep breathing. Deep breathing.

The following year I found another "crook" hanger on sale at Marden's (if you've not shopped at Marden's, a real local hangout, you're just a tourist: "from away"). Had to have it- so I stuck it in the ground about three feet from the first one, and added another feeding station and a hanging birdbath. I'd hunted for this particular bird feeder: it was a rectangular box- lots of space (useful when the snow gets too deep to reach the feeder), and a roofed-over place to put suet cakes(the poor birds who stay the winter need all the fat they can add to stay warm, and pounding rain and blizzards tend to make short work of the suet if it's not covered).

I also planted scarlet runner beans around the poles, and they did just what I'd hoped: grew all around the bird feeders, providing cover and gorgeous scarlet flowers, with the added benefit of a crop of sweet-tasting beans. And one other thing-hummingbirds showed up! Wow! Even in Maine! Grow more Flowers! But will anyone else ever come? photo: free digital photos.net

The Bird Feeder II

2009-09-28T23:20:00Z

The Bird Feeder, II

Yes!! The birds came, and when they came,they came with a vengeance! These days, there are usually ten or twelve birds hanging around the feeder, playing bird-king of the mountain(what do you suppose those rules are, anyway?), feeding each other(kinda sweet to watch- I think it's when the moms are too fat with eggs to fit on the feeder), feeding their babies (pretty nice to watch too).Lots of gold and purple finches, wrens, catbirds, mourning doves and cardinals (these guys are ground feeders, so they keep the stuff under the feeder to a minimum). There was a family of rose-breasted grosbeaks and a red-bellied wood pecker who stopped by on his way to somewhere. I hear orioles but have yet to see one at the feeder. (I hear tell that other folks put out oranges sliced in half to attract orioles.) Now I refill the bird feeder stations every other day, so I know, beyond the music I hear every time I step out the door, that there are lots of "wee folk" in my neighborhood.

This year, because I stopped weeding and mowing under the feeders (what, are you nuts?), there's been an interesting development. A weed has grown under the feeder. Not just any weed. I've watched this guy grow and grow and grow, since the spring. The main stalk is now about the size of my wrist. I've scoured all my"wildflower and weed" books looking for whatever it could be, but no luck. It's about eighteen feet tall now, and I'm beginning to think I'm looking in the wrong books-anybody know what Jack's beanstalk looked like?

"Free" Seeds

2009-09-28T22:55:00Z

"Free Seeds"

A couple of weeks ago, a woman in the next town offered free flower seeds on freecycle.org,a great swapping resource probably available everywhere. "Free" being one of my very favorite words, I headed off to her place to pick them up. But this turned out to be no ordinary rural Maine home. The impeccably landscaped grounds reminded me of favorite places from my childhood: the Bayard Cutting Aboretum, the Vanderbilt Estate, places on Long Island that had opened their grounds to the public. First mistake: she asked if I'd like to take a look around, and I said, "you bet!".

On we walked, chatting about plants, mulch, lawns, sun and shade, all of the really fascinating subjects gardeners obsess about. I noticed a whole area of pots of what looked like tiger lilies,post bloom. She said these were her real passion. "Really?" I said,thinking- who could care that much about a bunch of stupid tiger lilies? "How interesting", I said, in the words my mother had carefully imbued in us when responding to a complete nutcase. (Mistake#2). She proceeded to explain the cross-pollination process and seed collecting he was doing to achieve new hybrids in shape and color. She suggested I go online to The Lily Auction (lilyauction.com)to see what she was talking about. And there's mistake #3: I went online. Wow, I couldn't believe the incredible shapes, colors and varieties there! I mean, white with purple streaks and a lime green throat?

Those seeds, needless to say, have ended up being the most expensive "free" seeds I ever got, but I can't wait till next summer, to see my own lilies come into bloom.

Uh, one thing: if you do place an order for lilies, you might want to write down a general description of each "goodie" you order, so that when they come,you'll plant them according to the plan you've made. (you DID make a plan, right?) When your order arrives, each plant is labeled with the variety name you chose; but what the heck color is "Big Kiss"??? Or"Goblin Moon", or "Denali"?
Not doing this (who, me?) makes the anticipation even more charged- what WILL these things look like when they come into bloom? I'll let you know.....

Downeast Maine Pumpkin--Walnut Bread

2009-09-13T21:26:00Z

This is a recipe we enjoy every fall. I don't remember where I originally got the recipe but over the years we've added walnuts and more spices. We enjoy it plain as well as toasted and buttered. It hits the spot on those cold autumn mornings.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Walnut Bread

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease and flour 3 7x3 loaf pans

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin puree, oil, water, eggs and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl whisk together remaining dry ingredients. Stir into pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Bread is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Welcome

2009-07-13T22:29:22Z

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.