Rockin' to the Dead Leaves

Rocking out. (And yes, I'm quite the fashionista these days.)

In the words of a good friend:  Don’t Judge.

Today I spent four hours using the worst (and best) invention for the average homeowner: The Gas-Powered Leaf Blower. I fully acknowledge that the gawd-awful droning sound of that gawd-awful (and God-sent) machine is pure torture to anyone out enjoying the woods, nature and all that green stuff like clean air and peace and quiet.

But when a forest’s worth of leaves are blanketing your homestead …

And snakes love them leaves …

And there are no neighbors around for at least a mile…

Catherine Preus, aka African Catherine, please forgive me.

I drowned out the noise by wearing our circa 1980s big fat radio headphones/ear protection. And because NPR wasn’t coming in very clearly, I tuned in to a 1980s flashback “rock” radio station at the top of the dial.  Sweet REO Speedwagon! And Kansas. And Doobie Brothers.

OMG, who knew leaf “raking” could be so much fun? And who knew I still knew that many words to “Carry On.” (“Carry on my wayward son, Don’t you cry now more…” Buh buh buh buh buh BUH BUH BUH BUH!)

I’m not proud, but damn did I have a good time. I danced all day. And that blower tube makes a really good air guitar.

I know, not the Nan you are used to. I'm full of surprises. And sometimes, it feels so good to be bad.

Color and harvest

Today's color shot.

Today's harvest: Bok choy, which I served in an Asian beef soup. Delicious.

And now, it's back to work...

The Height of Fall Color

This was taken from our backyard fire pit.

From our bathroom window.

Love the long shadows, but not the raking.

I can't decide if the height of our fall color was on Friday or today. Either way, it's pretty spectacular around here lately. That also means our bodies are about to be aching from all of the raking it takes to clean up about an acre's worth of forest. (We leave the other four acres au natural.) And once all of the raking and shredding is done, then we throw all those mulched leaves back on the garden beds. We never put on pounds during the fall!

Today also marked my return to a three-day work schedule, giving me more time at home than at work, which we all know is one of the keys to true happiness. To mark the occasion, my Gift Goddess of the North, Michiela, somehow unknowingly sensed the moment and sent me a massive box full of books that say "Nan" all over them. From cookbooks to gardening tales to best-selling novels and nonfiction, Michiela always sends the most fabulous care packages. As soon as gardening season ends, reading season begins, and I'm so well-stocked now!

The man's a natural. Grrrrrr.

And now, you ask, what do Mason and I do if we're not painting, planting or puttering (or brewing)? Golf. The other day we finished our chores early, so we broke out the clubs for the first time in four years and worked on our chipping. We started chipping toward the south lawn from a berm near the future bunkhouse/brewhouse/guesthouse, but after Mason's powerhouse swing nearly smacked the cabin, we found a new site chipping to the back lawn. Mason's natural athleticism is annoying. Me? Well, at least we didn't lose any of the balls in the forest of downed leaves.

Something New is Brewing

Mason's fly-sparging his mash bed. That's beer-speak, y'all!

The leaves are at peak color, the sun has been gloriously warm every afternoon and Mason's been brewing up something new: all-grain beer. (Because he doesn't have enough to do, like finishing the bedroom wall, shredding a huge pile of leaves, etc, etc...)

The new brewing technique takes a lot more time, but less money, so you can understand the appeal.  Give us a month or two, and we'll let you know how the first batch turns out. Until then, we'll just keep drinking our high-dollar homebrews.

That's a lemon tree seedling in the pot;
some microgreens that got macro on me; arugula;
lettuce and peppers in the background.

In other news, we've finally set the last post for the perimeter of the veggie garden, where the lettuce is doing fantastic; started to finish the bedroom wall; planted hydrangeas, a Florida Sunshine illicium, lilies and a sad little spruce tree; and just been keeping up with all of the chores of a house in the woods.

And yes, I know, it's been nearly a month since my last blog entry. I promise, I'm trying to be better. In a couple of weeks, I'll be working one fewer day every week, giving me more time at home. Yes, this makes Mason very happy: one more buddy on the mountain to hang with.

Can you see that HUGE spider web? 

The Drone Footage

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10204952925883327&set=vb.1246479483&type=2&theater

Check out this video that my pals Cindy and Dean Johnson put together for me during their recent visit. I had a low-resolution link earlier. This one's better!! Thanks guys!! LOVE it!

The Eggert Visit

Miss Cindy Eggert, way back in 1990-something, traveling in Egypt,
 where the local men would propose to her on a daily basis.

We had so much fun with Dean and Cindy Johnson's whirlwind visit this past weekend that we failed to take a decent photo of us all together, despite all their fancy camera equipment, too. Bugger! So instead, as Cindy and I have been good friends since 1989, when we were in our young-20s, I thought she (and our close associates) might get a kick out of this photo of her at the Great Pyramids outside of Cairo, from 1992? 1993? '95? Help me out, Cindy! Or Mike?!?

That's Dean controlling the video drone, which you can barely see in the distant center,
and Cindy monitoring what it was filming.

The only photo I took of Cindy and Dean while they were here was one of them working their drone. I've been having fun showing off their super-cool footage of our little cabin here. Nothing but rave reviews, guys!! (Though everyone asks if Lili is our dog.) I see serious business potential.

Our weekend together involved a lot of food and brews, some cards and hikes, and simply not enough time. But we take what we can get. Especially from crazy people who drive 14 hours straight to come see us.

We debuted our new waffle maker for our guests,
complete with honey/cinnamon fruit and fresh whipping cream.

As for mountain life, we cracked open another watermelon from our garden while the Johnsons were here. Gorgeous, and sweet as hell! The watermelon, too.

Pretty damn delicious, it was.

Looks like Mom might be our next visitor, at Christmastime. But if any of you have a hankering for fall color and bonfires, the best color seems to be about the last two weeks of October. The guest room is free!! Call now and make your reservations!!

Harvest Girl

Oh dear. Insert your own melon joke here.

We're in full harvest mode here on Flat Top. This year we only had a few experimental crops in the ground; the veggie garden still isn't finished being properly fenced against our neighborly deer. But at just half-capacity, we're not complaining. Even Mason, who'd take a hamburger over an heirloom tomato any day, has been enchanted by the rewards of growing stuff he can eat, especially the jalapenos.

That's our first watermelon, above. I know, sorry about the juxtaposition. We'll crack her open tomorrow. We've had so much rain here, I'm not sure she's going to be super sweet. But if she isn't quite ripe, I'm still eating her -- maybe with the help of the blender, a little honey and some rum. We've got four more melons on the vine; we just need a little break from the damn rain. (Sorry, rain-starved California readers ...)

The tomatoes are in full production, though I don't think it will last too much longer. Damn blight. Yesterday, I had three meals featuring my 'maters. It's impossible to decide which was tastier: the breakfast taco with microgreens and cherry tomatoes, the BLT or the panzanella salad.

Refrigerator pickles; the cucumbers were picked fresh today!

And tonight, I made my first batch of refrigerator pickles! We'll get back to you on whether they were a success.