Showing posts with label backyard tomatoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backyard tomatoes. Show all posts

Monday, October 31, 2011

WONDERFUL CALIFORNIA AUTUMN



I’d forgotten about Halloween until I saw the date on my computer. On our rural road, a trick-or-treater is a rarity. In 33 years, I’ve had six kids, three one year, and three another year, begging for treats. School parties are popular and safer anyway. But, those people living in a house-to-house neighborhood enjoy the fun. This weight guessing contest was set up at our local grocery store. I noticed yesterday it had been moved. I’ll have to go into town and see if I won the guess.
Happy Halloween to you and yours.  In its celebrated form in the USA, it has transformed to a  purely North American fun night without it’s original pagan dark side. My youngest daughter was an exchange student to France during her high school years and enjoyed teaching her French family how to carve a  jack-o-lantern.  With youngsters still at home, the carving, decorating, costuming and begging treats has become, for all of my grand kids, their second favorite holiday.
Yesterday, I spent time in the yard, enjoying the soon to be gone sunny days.

My fuji was past prime  by the time I got off the road. Some cling, looking soft and rotten.

This heritage  Northern Spy, is crisp and good. Keeping in tune with the autumn days, sunny and warm with cold nights.

Foraging in my neighbors garden, some fresh basil, tomatoes, one zucchini, and an eggplant. Enjoying what we can as long as it lasts.

I harvested my walnuts for the first time in seven years. A balance of nature took all the squirrels away. I expect red tail hawks got everyone. In the past, a woman asked me what was growing on my trees. She had never seen walnuts grow. They have a husk, which dries out and the nuts free fall to the ground.

Some primal feeling of comfort envelopes me when I harvest these portions of my own food.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

FLOWERS BRING BACK SUMMER

 As fall begins to pitch its crisp, cold mornings, lavish sun drenched afternoons and cold nights, you know this is perfect fall weather. I begin to watch the fading flowers, dropping and yellowing leaves and know its a trade off, but a good one.  Jim watches the weather report with trepidation since snow is sure to come this weekend.
 It rarely gets worse than a pleasant dusting as it did last year about this time.
I still have a few straggling tomatoes and some basil on my deck. My plum tree hasn't shed its leaves yet.
Pictures are like magic.  If I get weary of the winter weather, I can easily resort to my pictures and bring back summer flowers and sunny memories.






At least posting flowers takes my mind off of food for awhile. I keep dreaming of all the great special dishes to prepare for Thanksgiving.

Monday, August 31, 2009

MOVING DAY

This is moving day in the true sense of the word. Jim and I pulled into my yard in Murphys yesterday. Old reliable, Panama or Bust, with the Bronco and the bike, sit comfortably under the oaks. Jim, a full timer, spent nine years of his life in this rig. Today, we move to my rig, the Terra. It is squeaky clean and I'm its second owner, but the newness hasn't worn off. It doesn't have the storage that Jim's rig has. But, a walk around queen, room to exercise for me. A trade off.
We'll be parked with only short outings for the next four months when we road warriors will be off and moving on wheels again.
The best thing about returning home? Catching up with family, friends and neighbors, and a true, juicy, tasty, sweet, sun burnished, VINE RIPENED TOMATO. Despite all the fruit stands and farmers markets we frequented, there is nothing quite like that gush of backyard tomatos and the distinct smell of the vines.