RECALIBRATION

Well, after Thursday’s snafu at Dick Hannah, my windshield is finally in and recalibrated – Dick Hannah had taken it upon themselves to cancel the recalibration with Ready Auto Glass, and I was LIED TO when I picked my car up and drove off the lot: I ASKED the DH rep specifically if the recalibration had been done … and WAS TOLD IT HAD BEEN DONE. I was furious when Ready Auto Glass called me back and said that it had been canceled. WTH??? So, another appointment was made Friday morning to get that DONE – and I did not leave Dick Hannah until it was.

I was short with the rep when she started lying to me Friday morning with BS excuses of WHY it had been canceled; and I didn’t apologize for my abruptness. Liars annoy me; and they get the attitude they deserve. MPO

But, it is done now, and when the tape is removed tomorrow, it should be as good as new. Hoping anyway – I really do not want to be dealing with a leaky windshield this Fall & Winter. IF that happens, I will seriously be pissed. The flung rock that broke m y windshield was not my fault, and I paid beaucoup bucks to get it fixed: it better be fixed right.

I’m tired of being shafted because I have no man in my life anymore. And if I have to show my teeth again … I will BITE. I may be little, and I may be a woman – but I can turn into Mighty Mouse in a heartbeat when pushed to the wall.

Finally. It took a whole week and some attitude to pull it all together (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/07/eventful-happenings.html)

The garden is coming along fine, and I am harvesting veggies as they come on … and putting discarded garden debris in the half-empty boxes to break down for compost; so my garden boxes will not win any prizes for “beautiful garden” – and I won’t be planting a 2^nd crop because there is just me; and what I gather is enough for 1 from season to season.

I normally have a very nice and tidy garden, but I’m still not “in the swing of things” yet – I’m getting there, but I am not ‘there’ yet. My {in the now} life needs recalibrated.

In the meanwhile, I am already planning next year’s garden and gathering implements I will need for it: MORE containers, MORE trellises, MORE cages, MORE sunscreens, ect.: I never have enough. I am a garden junkie 😉

The carrots are just about done; the beans are all coming on strong – including the cannellini beans (pardon the vid; I really butcher the pronunciation!) which will be left on their vines to dry. The eggplant plant is doing better this year, the celery is finally taking off in growth, and the butternut squash is finally perking up and setting blossom.

The weather has been yo-yoing here between baking the hell out of everything in the daytime, under a heavy layer of sea fog … and slipping into the lower 50’s every night: the plants are struggling to adapt to the wildly fluctuating weather:

Carrots, Parsley, Green Beans, Wax Beans, Purple Romano Beans, Eggplant, Cannellini Beans, Celery, & Butternut Squash.

This is the 2nd year for this eggplant; and it has matured, putting out more eggplants.

The cannellini-celery-butternut planter box is planted with Bonanza Marigolds and self-seeding violas. The violas are edible in salads, so I keep them around. The marigolds are scented ‘trap bait’ flowers to deter destructive insects and slugs. But, I LIKE to look at them too 😉

I also use a lot of herbs in my cooking, so I always plant a lot of herbs to dry.

I will never buy 'small space vegetables' again! I am really disappointed with the Cauliflower and Broccoli - this is ridiculous!

Green zucchini, gourmet salad greens, dillweed & parsnips; are planted with pink and yellow cosmos and violas – I like flowers in my veggie beds, so I am very careful when bees are present …

Cosmos is not a trap flower ... but I think they are pretty flowers; and butterflies and bees like them - that is good in the garden!

It was windy today – everything was getting blown around. Hard. My hair, my clothing, the yellow pinwheel garden décor:

The pinwheel is easy to see in this video, but it was spinning so fast it was a whirling blur to the naked eye.

The apple trees are putting out a nice crop of fruit this year. 

The Kalettes look like a miniature kale – not at all what was advertised, and I bought. They were supposed to be small, single, “compact” leaves on “a broccoli like steam”; that is not what is growing! I will not be buying the seed again.

The shallots & scallions are grown separately – and they are coming along nicely; Spaghetti squash, gourmet salad greens, and peas share their space with Vanilla marigolds, and the pea vines need to be pulled …

I'm not sure I will plant any more peas this season.

Compact Swiss Chard, compact collards, and kalettes will not be repeated next year:

Marigolds & cosmos are interplanted with the veggies.

The Candy Corn is tasseling now, so I really have to be diligent to pollinate every silk to make sure the pollen does not get carried away on the high winds that come off the river and blow through here like a screaming banshee running down a wind tunnel.

I transplanted a tiny bit of nasturtium in with the corn, and I mulched the corn bed with the snow-peas I pulled earlier this week.

Miniature blueberry bushes are planted in large containers – the blueberry bush with red foliage has never done as well as the other, fuller one; these blueberry bushes self-pollinate, but it is wise to have 2: and they don’t need to be the same variety …

I am surprised I even got strawberries ... strawberries usually do not do well for me: but these June bearers really pumped out the berries!

The Red Ring Onions ‘took’ right off the bat, and didn’t let the sparse sunshine affect them too much … but the Candy Onions struggled under the heavy gray cloud cover and cooler weather – they are finally taking off, but some of them died off before they established themselves, so the harvest of these onions will be skimpy.

I had brought my German Thyme into the house to overwinter, but apparently it needs to remain outside: it died. Totally. So, I planted more, and it is coming along nicely – same with the Oregano 😉 Volunteer Zinnias have popped up in the Candy Onion planter box, and those will add a bit of dash to the struggling bed:

Red Ring Onions, German Thyme, Chives, Oregano, & Candy Onions.

I love beets, but I have never had good luck growing them – the roots get very hard and woody; no matter if they are pulled on time, or not. So, now I just grow Lutz Beets primarily for the greens, which I use in winter soups.

When I bought veggie seeds in 2019, I thought I had ordered a smooth crookneck squash – that was what was advertised: but I found out later that it was a Yellow Zucchini. That’s okay, I like zucchini … but I do not think I will be ordering any more seed from Territorial Seed: too many mistakes and diseased plants (last year ALL my pepper plants and tomato plants were diseased and died); and the ‘container sized compact’ seeds look plastic and not at all like they were advertised: I bought ALL ORGANIC seeds, and they just look awful – they do not look realistic at all. I don’t have $$$ to waste – when I do spend my money, I want to be able to cash in on it.

And I do not appreciate being lied to.

By anyone – for any reason …

Beets & Yellow Zucchini.

I am finally seeing tomatoes on the tomato plants, and the celeriac is growing. Bachelor Buttons and Vanilla Marigolds were interplanted with the tomatoes and celeriac; marigolds are ‘trap flowers’, and bachelor buttons help with pollination by luring pollinators to the bed … as well as being pleasing to the eye :-D

I do intensive companion planting in my gardens which take more time and water; but I think it is worth it.

Fennel, I planted off by itself, because it does not get along with other vegetables – fennel is the “brat” of the vegetable species. LOL

Tomato planter box.

 I do believe this 😉

BIG JET! It was pretty clear in the sky ...

While I watered, I also weeded the planter boxes and gleaned what was ready to be harvested:

My harvest tonight.

Shredded Carrots.

The Shabbat Sunset was pretty and colorful – this picture does not do it justice – and it was time to put coffee aside and recalibrate my emotional and spiritual balance with a small goblet of blackberry wine to usher in the Shabbat Rest …

L’chiam!