Things done: a rambling update

[bunn]

Yesterday it rained.  I had planned to garden, but the sudden downpours were too much. Instead we went wandering around Tavistock for several hours with the hounds (and took them to our favorite dog-friendly cafe for lunch).  I managed to get some more titanium white acrylic paint and then since the shop had an offer, I bought some silver, buff

Comments

[songblaze]

I am rather jealous! It's terribly hard to get good apples in So Cal. It's not just that there aren't many places here that are suitable (though that is an issue), it's also that the grocery stores tend to only stock a few boring cultivars. When it comes to apples, I want them tart and really crunchy. My favorites are cortlands and jonagolds. I can rarely find jonagolds out here, but they have been very underwhelming - not very flavorful, too sweet, and a bit mealy. I like the apples that give a good SNAP when you bite into them. Yum.

We also can't find good cider here, alas. Just the huge companies that sell clear apple cider. I like the tart, rich cloudy cider. When we were in Philly, there was a vender at the farmer's market who always had really good cider. We often went through a gallon a week because the fiance and I are both very fond of it.

I'm jealous of the hardy kiwis, too! They sound delicious, but that's another thing that absolutely will not grow here. We're a mile from the sea, with the bay about 1/4 mile north of us, so we don't freeze here, ever. Don't even get a hard frost, just a little bitty one that makes the grass shiny for a few hours, and even those only happen a few times a year.

I think when we finally are able to buy a place, I may try putting in a nectarine tree. That, at least, has a chance in this climate. Maybe a Santa Rosa plum - they're delightful, almost black skins and deep rosy red insides, a very rich intense flavor compared to the average plum, and a bit sweeter than most of the marketable plums. You never see them in the market because the fruits bruise and split too easily to transport the way we move most fruits around - they'd have to be packed up like berries to protect them, and nobody does that with plums.