Lynnville, Tennessee, Lunchtime

This week Bill and I went on a travel date to the historic town of Lynnville, Tennessee, population 272, we made it 274. It was first established in 1810 and was named for the linden trees which grew along the bank of Lynn Creek (or so the internet says). It was the old stagecoach pike which connected Nashville, Tennessee and Decatur, Alabama. It was a flourishing little town but much of it was burned and destroyed during the Civil War by guerilla warfare (pretty common history around these parts). Today it is a little town that time seems to have forgotten.

Being hungry, we checked out the menu at the Soda Pop Junction:
Lynnville's Best Bologna Sandwich (Grilled to perfection) - $3.50 (Really! $3.50)
Lynnville's Best Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que - $3.50
Burger 1/3 lb - $4.50 (Voted best burger in Tennessee, it was)
Tea - $.99 (When was the last time I got a glass of tea for $.99?)
Yes, this is our kind of a restaurant.
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So very quaint. It was entertaining just looking at the junk/stuff everywhere. I had the urge to dust.

Their menu stated...the building was built in 1860 and was used as L.E. Moore Drug Store from 1928 to 1978. The building still has the original pharmacy...and original soda fountain...

They still make milkshakes the old fashioned way, by hand.  Bill could not resist the chocolate, hot fudge syrup craving and indulged himself. He sat on the barstool like a sheriff in an old western overseeing the operation. He was quite pleased with the results.  

As we left the building, I spied two interesting looking characters sitting on sidewalk benches and decided I needed to investigate further. I walked up to them (I can walk up to anyone anywhere and start a conversation) and asked if they thought it would rain. Both looked up at the cloudless sky and began to complain about the drought. Yep, my kind of people. Anyone that can complain about the weather is a friend of mine.

I moved in closer to hear more.

I asked them if they were from around here, they were. The gentleman on the right said he sat there every day of the week, all day long, all year long (now that's some serious settin'). Whenever anyone takes a picture of the town, he is always in it. He went on to say that when The Food Network, Travel Channel, Tennessee Crossroads or any other big television show came to town to do a special, he would be caught in the pictures (now that's some serious braggin'). 

I moved in even closer, I had to hear more.

The gentleman on the left said while sitting there he had met and talked to people from all over the world: Australia, England, the list went on and on. He said he has met the world and didn't even have to leave his seat.

  

Country folk.  You just gotta' love them.

We will be returning.

Lemongrass Harvest

This past week I harvested my lemongrass plant and I consider it to be a success.  Once again, my criteria for garden success is:  producing enough food for my family for one year with the minimum amount of work and cost.

• First, there was no expense for purchasing this year's plant. Years ago I bought a shoot at Whole Foods grocery store and have kept reusing it. Even though it was being sold for food, I put it in water and after a few weeks, it rooted. The price was nominal but the store is about 30 miles away making it prohibitive to drive that far to get a new shoot each year. A few root clumps are saved every year to be replanted in the spring. This year was a smaller yield than previous years; however, I think it is due to the drought. 
• Second, minimum labor during the summer. I did need to water it some this year, but normally it does not need much water, it is grass, after all. Bill mowed around it a few times, but since it grows taller than the weeds, it is fine. Each year I try planting it in different spots.This year I put it in the far corner of the vegetable garden so it would catch the hose pipe and keep it from dragging over other plants; it worked quite well that way.
• Third, easy to harvest. Shove a pitchfork underneath, push up, rinse with water then separate the sections. Done.
• Fourth, this one plant will provide more than enough for us until the next harvest. I will use it mainly for tea but will freeze some to season food.

This is certainly not what you see in the stores, all cleaned and packaged, but it is how it really looks after digging it out of the ground. Not a very pleasing picture, I know, and yes, I brought it into the kitchen to work on it. Normally I do this outside, but it was too cold.

I separated it into three sections:

1. A healthy root clump is put into a glass of water then placed in the laundry room window for the winter. There it will languish forgotten, knocked over and repeatedly spilled until spring. It will survive in only water and be rewarded for its perseverance by being replanted in the garden in the spring.  
2. The lower few inches of the stalk are wonderful to use to flavor chicken dishes. They are woody and hard to chew so it is best to remove them before serving. If you freeze them they will keep through the winter.
3. Everything else on the leaf will be dehydrated and used for tea. 

After we finished digging we decided to sit enjoy a cup of fresh lemongrass tea while resting in the swing in the yard. My seat is on the left and Bill's is on the right where the rock drops down lower, his legs are longer. He built the cup holders as an added convenience. This is our favorite spot in the yard.

Technical Difficulties

Faochadh is Scottish-Gaelic for temporary relief or rest and is the name of Joshua's computer.

My apologies to anyone who tried to read this blog last night. I was experiencing technical difficulties with my difficult technicians. It was my desire to add a tabs text but when I tried to set it up, I could not understand what I was to do. After four hours (yes, I really spent four hours going around in circles) my son Reese offered to help me. He is so sweet.

I explained the problem, showed him a blog set up like I liked and offered him my computer. He turned up his nose and said, “I use that slow thing? It is a dinosaur. No way. I am using my powerful, fast computer.”

“Don't you need my computer so you can log into my account?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “I can handle it.”

I sat back feeling rescued.

“Let's see...Google email, got that, top secret password...hmm, since this is you it can't be too hard...123456...yep, I am in,” he snickered.

I did not care how sarcastic he was since he was about to fix my blog.

“If I mess it up so bad it can't be fixed, how mad will you be?” Reese asked.

I wondered about this trick question a second. If I said I would be mad, he would not help but at the same time, he might accidentally destroy everything. Oh well, I could just start a new blog under an alias, I thought.

I said, “I won't get mad. Do whatever you want to do.” These were words I quickly lived to regret.

“Click the refresh button, in the upper left-hand corner, the arrow in a spiral, and tell me what you think,” he calmly said.

I gasped in horror! The page was black with yellow, orange and red flames bursting across the sides and top! “It looks like HELL!”

“Mom! You said a bad word!” he chuckled.

“No, I mean it 'looks as if it is hell' with fiery flames exploding all over the page. People will think they are in Dante's Inferno and run screaming.”

He burst into laughter. “How about this?” he asked.

I hit the refresh button and up came a page covered in glow-in-the-dark, neon green leaves with a purple font. I gasped again and said, “It looks like the trees are radioactive!”

“Well it is a garden site after all,” he laughed even harder. “So how about this?”

A new page loaded that was covered in lovely orange fall leaves with hot pink Arabic font!

At this moment the phone rang and it was my oldest son, Joshua; he would save me. I just knew it. He is the son that built his own computer from salvaged or purchased used parts (thrifty, yea!) because he could not buy one from a store powerful enough to please him. I put the phone on speaker so he could chastise Reese. I told him of my dilemma (his irritating brother) and he clicked on to my web page to see for himself. I knew when the page loaded by the peals of laughter exploding over the phone.

“Can you fix his mistakes on your computer from there?” I asked.

“Sure Mom. All I need is your top secret password...hmm...12345...nope...123456...yep, I am in. Mom, don't ever do any online banking. Trust me,” Joshua said. “So how about we move the title to the bottom of the page, then move the things on the right side to the left side of the page, then…”

“NO, NO, NO! STOP!!! YOU ARE MAKING IT EVEN WORSE!!!” I screamed.

“Hey Reese, let's see how bad we can make Mom's blog look.”

I was doomed. That was how the evening went. Finally, the phone's battery began to die as they tired of tormenting me. As the phone began chirping its dying warning, I left them with these final words, “Fix it or else. Good night.”

I have logged in today to see only the fuchsia pink and lime green font left. Surely, I can fix that myself or maybe I just might grow to like it. Anyway, I do apologize to anyone who might have thought their computer was broken last night. Hopefully, it won't happen again, but since they have stolen my password, I can't promise anything.

Thinning The Winter Garden (2016)

The picture looks lush and healthy but it is not; it is overcrowded.  About two months ago I broadcast an assortment of Chinese vegetable seeds out into the dirt and left them to grow. I have thinned them once for meals but it is time to do it again.  Not all are winter hardy so I will be harvesting those that will not make it through the coldest part of winter to make room for the hardier varieties.

When you part the leaves you see where bugs are beginning to nibble on the plants plus there is a small cabbage seedling in the shadow of the larger plants. Everything around it will be harvested or trimmed back to the ground.  The sun will penetrate down inside to help the seedling grow, air will circulate to keep molds from growing, and beneficial insects will help themselves to the bugs.

Here is a wasp sunning himself while waiting for his lunch.  As long as he does not sting me, he can eat all he wants.

Some cabbage worms were hiding underneath a leaf. They can devour a plant quickly. Cold weather does not stop them but only slows them. Spraying with poison would not have gotten far enough underneath the leaf to kill him.  Even though I could use an organic spray on it, I still hesitate to do so.

This is the same area with just a little of it cleared.  Even though all the seeds were planted on the same day, they vary in speed of growth.  The Chinese vegetables will quickly overtake the other winter cabbages, but the winter cabbages can take the bitter cold better.  The cabbage seedling is too small for me to identify the type yet.  I saved seeds from many overwintering plants and threw them all together.  I lose track of what is what and don't really care; all are edible.

If you look to the left of the seedling there is a small winter radish. I will cut the leaves back low but leave enough so it can still grow. Since that will slow the growth some, I will harvest it later. There are many others that are ready to be picked now. This one can wait a while. Removing the leaves will also give more sunlight to the winter cabbage beside it.

To the left of the cabbage, the seedling is more of the same type grouped together in one bunch. They all can't stay so one will need to be chosen and the others will be harvested. The choice will be the healthiest one that has the thickest stem.

Even though this one had a good thick stem, it was cut down because it was too close to other plants plus it had aphids.

On this close-up view, you can see the aphids plus the damage done to the leaf by other bugs. Once again, the poison would not have gotten down under here. These plants were not used for dinner because they are bug infested. I do have my standards, although they are sometimes a bit low.

After the area was cleared, I broke up the soil killing any weed seedlings that may have sprouted. Normally there are not too many because it is so shaded underneath.

The last step is to take all of the inedible, thinned leaves, chop them up into smaller bits and spread them over the ground. This blocks more weeds from sprouting and keeps the moisture in the ground from evaporating. It looks crowded but they will dry very quickly and begin to decompose. Doing it this way saves me from hauling the plants to the compost bin and then having to bring the compost back later to the garden. I take the buggy leaves and throw them in an empty area of the garden. The predators will find them and they will be gone soon or they will die because there is nothing live for them to eat.

This is the same area about four days later.  It is now easier to see what is alive and what is mulch. The Chinese vegetables have already grown some.  

Every few days I work in a different area based on which spot is the most overcrowded. After I get finished, I start all over again.  It never ends.

Something Pretty, Something Putrid, and Something Pretty Putrid

November's Garden (2016)

Scooter Discovers Hot Dogs

Just when you think you can't be surprised anymore, it happens.  My husband shocks me!  I thought I knew everything about him.  Nope.  I don't. While making out my grocery list I asked him what he wanted me to cook, if there was anything he was in the mood to eat.

In a calm voice, he said, "I want hot dogs."

I felt the ground shake beneath my feet!  He has not wanted or eaten hot dogs for YEARS! We have been at this house for thirteen years and I don't remember ever buying them while we have been here.

Then he followed up with, "I don't want the cheap ones.  I want the good ones."

Good ones? What is that? Spend more money to get the best? He said that. He really did! I was going to Aldi's where everything was cheap.  An expensive hot dog - is there such a thing?  I don't know.

So I did as he asked and purchased the "expensive" hot dogs at $1.99 a pound.

Upon returning home Scooter met me at the backdoor happy and dancing. He immediately became enamored with one of my grocery bags. He followed the special bag to the kitchen where he proceeded to sit, guard and wait.  His waiting paid off.

Scooter eating a hot dog on the furniture in the living room. What a sight! Quite spoiled. Yes, we have "gone to the dogs."

Sweet Potato Harvest

I consider this year's sweet potato harvest to be a success.  What are my criteria for success?
Producing enough food for my family for one year with the minimum amount of work and cost.

• First, no expense for the plants.  I took last year's few remaining old sweet potatoes that had been stored all through the winter, rooted them and planted the little slips in my garden.  
• Second, minimum labor during the summer.  I let the vines grow wild out into the yard and didn't bother weeding.  After they get thick, they crowd out grass and weeds.
• Third, when it came time to dig them up, I strong-armed the boys and made them do the dirty work. Hey, don't criticize me!  They are big and strong, I am old and weak. Why not take advantage?
• Fourth, this will be more than enough to last us for one year.  In bumper crop years, I have canned some.

After we dig them, I let them dry out in the sun for a few weeks.  I then sort through them and put the large ones that are not broken or bruised into a cardboard box with newspaper.  They will be stored at room temperature all winter long.  Periodically I check to see if there are soft spots; as soon as one starts to wither, it is cooked for supper.

These were culled because they were either too small or were damaged by the pitchfork during harvest. None will go to waste. There are quite a few that are really small, about the size of a carrot.  It would be impossible to bake and peel them so I boil all of them.  They would dry up quickly in storage.

Trying to get the bruised spots off would be quite a bit of work.  It is easier to remove them after they are all boiled and soft. 

After they are rinsed and cooled, it is easy to remove the skins.  Just pinch the potato and they will slide off.

They look fine but because they are so small many will have small fibers like little hairs which I don't like.

If you look close you can see the little fibers so I mix them with a hand-blender until they are fluffy.

Next, I add butter and brown sugar and mix them up again.  They really don't need much sugar since they are so fresh and naturally sweet.

The last step is to put them into a casserole dish and freeze for Thanksgiving.  After they are steaming hot I will add marshmallows to the top at the last minute.  

A Killing Frost (Vegetable Garden 2016)

Wednesday night November 9, 2016, was our first really hard frost and it killed the heat loving plants. The weather report said it dropped to 39 degrees.  It has gotten that cold already a few times but the ground was still warm enough to keep the plants alive.  Last night was just too much for them.

Yesterday I harvested the last of the tomatoes.  It is sad to watch them die and realize this is all for this year.

I will wrap these in newspapers and hide them away in the dark.  Many of them will continue to slowly ripen. The flavor will not be as good as the summer vine-ripened ones, but they will be better than any bought at the store.  My goal is to have enough for a large garden fresh salad for Thanksgiving dinner.

This is the pepper plant the morning after the frost.  Cold weather is not something they can tolerate.

All the peppers were harvested.  I will be freezing and dehydrating them but I know some will be joining the tomatoes in the Thanksgiving salad.

A Cabin In The Woods

This is the cabin in the woods where my close friends and I go to enjoy a weekend of peace and rest. We are only able to get together about twice a year due to everyone's busy schedules.

Below is the view from the back deck where we spend most of our time chatting and enjoying the breeze.  We never seem to run out of anything to say.

On Saturday night we traveled down the mountain to dine at High Point restaurant.  According to their website, it is a “1929 mansion...presumably financed by Al Capone....The three-story compound once had escape hatches on the roof and underground tunnels in the basement used by Capone for the transferring of liquor in the twenties and early thirties. Local legend reveals tales of Capone and John Dillinger lounging outside on the mountain stone patio having drinks and playing numerous hands of cards."

The food was great!  The atmosphere was excellent! The weather was perfect, we thought.  It has been so very dry here this fall and in last week's newspaper we were declared to be in an "extreme drought area." Yes, I would agree.  The tree leaves are not the usual burst of flaming colors but are parched and withered.   The cabin is located up in the mountains and is on well water.  On the last day, we began washing linens, packing up, and getting ready for showers when the well water turned to mud.  All shower plans were halted and the dirty clothes were packed up to come back home.  I am a country girl accustomed to well water and the free luxuries it affords.  We water the garden freely, take long showers and do not conserve water; there is no need when there is a river flowing beneath us.  Our well is rated at 25 gallons a minute. It was another story at the mountaintop cabin.  That well was running dry.

It was sobering for me since I have taken free water (almost free except for the pennies spent to run the pump) for granted.  We have become cautious this fall and so we stagger our water usage here at home. Showers have first priority followed by laundry and then the dishwasher.  A small section of the garden is watered with the sprinkler every day.  If we had city water there is no way we could afford to keep the garden going.  A dry well is something I have thought about but never experienced.

Even though the weather was perfect, I think I would have preferred a weekend of slow drizzling rain.

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

The nights are getting cooler, the days shorter, and the summer flowers are fading fast.  Today the butterflies were swarming this one pathetic flower plant.  I was about to cut it down since it is so scraggly, but I just could not since they were having so much fun hopping from one wilted bloom to another.

They would push to see how many they could squeeze upon each bloom.  Each was working as hard as he could, knowing the days are limited.

And this sad looking plant is the "beloved" flower they were all shoving to enjoy.