Rain!
Nine-tenths of an inch so far, with intermittent showers still to come. It was a perfect rain, sans whipping winds or thunder, falling at a slow-enough rate that the ground soaked it up as it went along.
I don’t see any puddles in the backyard, and I doubt the ground is anywhere near saturated. The sump pump well is still bone-dry, as it has been for months, and the greening that occurred thanks to the half inch or so that we received a few weeks ago was starting to give way to shriveled brown once more. That’s been put off for a few more weeks, at least.
Temps have fallen to the 60s. Tomorrow it’s supposed to hit only 73F, the coolest high in 2 months.
I’ve picked a few tomatoes, enough for munching and salads. Unless the plants start going late summer crazy, I don’t think I will harvest enough to freeze or make sauce. I lost too many blossoms to the heat back in June/July, and most of the plants never recovered.
The only variety that is doing well is the Black Cherry, a black cherry-tomato with a nice flavor. It is covered with greenies, and if they all turn at once, I may have enough to make a very small batch of chili sauce or chutney. The crabapple that puts forth the larger apples-handball-size and sweet-is fairly loaded this year, so I may be able to harvest enough for a batch of crabapple chutney. I still have one or two jars left from the batch I made 2 years ago-it keeps very well in the deep freezer. Good on chicken, turkey, hot dogs. Not so great with burgers. Might make good tart filling with a little extra sugar.
The handyman was able to work on the garage for part of the day. He installed the new side door, a task that included ripping out the old jamb and installing a new one. He also installed a raised strip along the bottom to keep out leaves, dirt, and the odd critter. He also had enough time to switch out some of the garage siding. It’s going to look very nice when it’s done.
We talked about other possible jobs. When I freshen up the kitchen-new countertops, backsplash, sink, an island or peninsula-I want to keep the old cupboards and refinish them as they are real wood. They are very plain, though-the doors are flat and featureless, with no trim of any kind. I asked the handyman if it would be possible to install glass in the upper doors to modernize their appearance, and he said that was a job he could do.
At the moment, the cupboards are stained *green*, and since the stain was applied directly to the bare wood, I may not be able to remove it completely. A pickling stain might work, depending on the amount of green remaining. It will be a job, but I think it will be worth it. I just don’t see solid wood cabinets in any of the stores I frequent. I can only imagine how much they would cost brand new.
Mirrored from Kristine Smith.