I’ve had more than one person tell me to take it easy this weekend, to enjoy it. Yet, I do enjoy (in a perverse way) the work. The fact is, there is no one here who will do it if I don’t. Jenny won’t even pick up sticks in the yard, heaven forfend that she actually try to help keep the house clean. Add to the normal the fact that the lawnmower died, work and some special projects for the blogs a bear, and it has been almost two weeks since the yards were mowed, garden weeded, etc. But all is not work, and I thought I would share a bit of what I’ve done this weekend.
Friday evening, I spent a couple of hours with two friends picking blueberries. One of these friends is beginning to get tired of getting asked if they’ve seen Willy Wonka—they will eat blueberries to the point that the rest of us are looking for the skin to turn blue and and a helpful Oompha Loompa (sp?) to get them to the juicer. Not sure about anyone else, but I did leave with a few pounds worth. In fact I had originally been thinking just a pound for use with the cereal next week. Then I got to thinking of some other uses, and…
Saturday morning saw me up way too early with a dog who was grunting she was so worried I would oversleep (really do have to work on the concept of Saturday with her). So, up came a double batch of Whole Wheat Pancakes with loads of blueberries. Six or so just with blueberries, and then six more with banana. A bottle of Viking Fiord potato vodka got mostly emptied,then filled with blueberries and topped off, so as to make blueberry-flavored vodka and to do a novel preservation of some of the blueberries which can be used later in desserts and such. A quart of blueberries were then frozen.
I then went and started work in the yard. There were various efforts required, including putting out some bags of gravel to begin prepping the next section of fence to be done, and to continue work on an interesting area of the alley/road. There was some minor moving of rocks, and some major weeding around the back deck.
Time to mow, darn it. Quickly realize that the mower has to be raised. Check. Stop to empty bag, mower no start. WTF? Check, test, no joy, call the repair place. Bike rack goes back on the car, mower is lifted onto rack, and secured. The repair place waits, and I get there. We talk, and the owner is rather annoyed at the mechanic who worked on it. He shows me a trick for that make and model, and what we both suspected was true: There was some junk in the gas. I now know not only how to check for it, but to get it out fairly quickly and easily if needed. Mower back on bike rack and back home. House yard and back yard (about an acre all told though not all is grass) gets first cut. I did something else, AHA—grocery run—finally remembered, and then set up the challenge with Uncle Jimbo, who delighted in telling me who he was going to dinner with (and who I bet didn’t pass along my greetings as promised), the rat fink. So, please go vote for me so I can gloat back one day soon.
Went out, got out the charcoal chimney, started the side smoker on the grill. Began second cut of the house yard. It really needed three cuts to do it right, but skipped on down to low as I was running low on light. Between emptying the grass catcher, I put fourteen ears of sweet corn on the grill and began to smoke/roast it. Got the house yard done, brought in the corn, and then prepped meat to make Alton Brown’s air dried beef jerky. Meat cut, brine made (modified, of course), and everything left to soak overnight in the refrigerator.
Sunday was another early rise day, and I made one more batch of whole wheat pancakes with banana and blueberries. Discovered that they way I had been making them, one was enough for a meal. Began bagging and freezing accordingly. Cleaned up in the kitchen, got out the jerky beef, dried, and placed on filters. Put together the drying ensemble and put it out on the back deck to start. Did some other stuff, can’t remember what right now, then did the second mowing of the back yard/pasture. Discovered the fan drying the jerky had died, may have been off an hour. Bleep. Got the other box fan, restarted, brought it all inside. Came in, had lunch, cooled off, had fun with the new fan and the jerky when I flipped the filters, then went back out and took the weed whacker to the garden and yard. Came back in to cool off again, and shucked the corn and cut it off the cob. Three quart bags and one pint of smoked roasted corn is now in the freezer. Oh, yes, I also peeled three of the peaches I got off my peach trees this year (didn’t expect any, only planted the trees last year), and put them in the remaining vodka so as to preserve and make peach-flavored vodka. I’m now putting off going and doing the final mow of the back yard. Will update this later. 
Put off mowing a bit longer by picking English Peas out of the garden. Remembered the other thing I did this morning, which was clean out the car, though I balked at working too much in the trunk. About time to clean it out, check and update the emergency kits… Am taking a break from mowing, got a chunk done, decided to come in and cool off a bit, rehydrate, and such. More in a bit.
Another good chunk done, just the last bit to go. Another cool-down: I don’t know the temp and am not sure I want to know the temp, thank you very much. Am thinking that later this week I might take some huge yellow and Z squash, what carrots I can find, some eggplant, leeks, bell pepper, and brussel sprouts and make up some vegetable stock. Good way to use the stuff that really can’t be eaten (too big, old, dry) but still has a lot of flavor to give. More in a bit.
Last bit wasn’t bad as the temps dropped. Of course, that was because of clouds rolling in that I wasn’t expecting. Neither is the weather service apparently, but I went ahead and dusted the garden and sprayed some herbicide where needed outside the garden figuring it was worth the risk. Just hope the forecast for Wednesday holds as I really want to spray the weed (no feed for now) stuff on the yards. Also need to spray insecticide again, but that is on the schedule for Thursday or Friday. Will see.
That’s it for now. Dinner of sorts is ready, tools are put away, now to get the trash together and out for pickup tomorrow morning and get the recycle ready to go out to Wolf Park tomorrow. Have dentist, eye exam, and more scheduled for tomorrow, so am thinking of taking my lunch break out at the park, and taking some Frosty Paws frozen treats to two of my favorite wolves. May even squeeze in a hair cut if I can…
LW
