Author: -N-

Patio Potatoes

To be precise, I planted organic Elba potatoes on March 24, 2023. I harvested them today as we will be gone for a while on a trip, and I wanted to see what I got. So, they are officially harvested on August 27, 2023. I planted them in a 15 gallon flower pot with extra amendments, such as recommended by various sites, whose names I forget. Ah, well. More research for the next potato season.

Let’s start with the Elba potatoes. I ordered mine from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine. They were organic seed potatoes and can be harvested 7-8 weeks after planting. They are noted as good for container gardens, hence my choice, as well as being a hardy and disease-free plant.

Reading about potatoes was really interesting, and to me, potatoes and tomatoes are some of the best contributions to world cuisine from the New World. Let’s add squash, too, and corn.

Anyway, my crop is not big. Altogether I harvested about 20 potatoes, of which 10 are fist-sized, and the rest are smaller. I have enough to share a few perhaps with a friend or family member. I have no idea how to store them before I eat them, so per the internet:

  • Do not wash before storing
  • Do not store in the refrigerator
  • Store in a paper bag or bowl, both with holes to allow ventilation, preventing moisture accumulation, leading to spoilage
  • Keep away from light to prevent development of chlorophyll and the toxic chemical solanine

At the moment, my potatoes are sitting on a paper towel so the dirt on them can dry. I won’t wash them, but perhaps brush off some dirt. Then, certainly a bit of a feast! I will also put them in a paper bag in the pantry to see what they do – our garage is too hot, and as the pantry is sort of in a central part of the house, it might not be a bad idea to put them there, or in a closet.

Tomatoes on the Farm

Tomatoes

The ground here is crumbly and loose, small ditches to collect water, strong stakes and supports for tall tomato plants that are getting close to harvesting time. After the hurricane, I expect this crop may be a bit of a mess – certainly the ground will be sticky and muddy and hell to walk through – the clay soil just sucking you in, caking your shoes. But since then, the sun has been out and the sky is cloudless. I bet those tomatoes are going to be all right!

Hurricanes and Earthquakes

Yesterday Hurricane Hilary came through the neighborhood, dumping lots of rain. We are west of her path and missed a lot of the damage caused elsewhere. Our backyard is basically clay soil, and it doesn’t drain nicely. A pump helps get the water out of the yard and into the street. If we didn’t do that, we could easily be flooded. Patio drains work well, but one in particular gives us problems periodically.

We were fine during the storm although many others were not, particularly in the desert where flash flooding of even an inch can cause a lot of damage. Areas burned by fire, too, are dangerous as the plants holding the soil may be too young or not even present yet. The cliffs and hills, too, are not particularly stable, and many times people living along or in them face trouble from fire and flood. Our house is on a slight incline, on a small hill, so rain water runs down. Storm drains run to the creek and that creek, in turn, runs into a deep canyon. When we were looking for houses, we saw a lot on hills we liked and could afford, but ended up where we are – a bit of good fortune as, so far and knock on wood, our neighborhood has withstood many threats nearby. Hopefully the natural gas main won’t blow up – even if it is a few blocks away, I don’t think it would be much fun . . .

And then there was our earthquake! It was about 5.1 and centered around an area called Sulfur Mountain. For us, it was a quick, sharp jolt and a bit of rolling. My in-laws felt it more intensely as they are south of the epicenter by about 10 miles. Other family members felt it as a roll, and others did not feel it at all. The worst part of it was the loud screeches coming from our cell phones, warning us of the earthquake. We didn’t duck and cover, but stood within door frames until the shaking stopped and then fetched shoes and socks – if glass shatters, you don’t want it in your feet, and if you flee your house, at least you have some protection.

An earthquake in the middle of a hurricane . . . .

We received a few warnings over our phones – loud and noisy, certainly designed to get our attention. Earthquake warnings came twice, and later in the day the flash flood warnings came. It is important to be ready for natural disasters, and though annoying, I appreciate these public announcements. They do get your attention! We pulled out our earthquake food, consolidated charged lamps and flashlights, made sure our coffee was ground (coffee will get you through many things!), and so on.

And now, our lives return to normal. The birds are busy twittering around the bird feeders; dog walkers are out. The air is heavy and moist and quite pleasant. My grass will get a bit greener. I had planned to harvest my potatoes, but that can wait a day or two. We head to visit Josh’s parents to sharpen knives and knit, perhaps some dinner. All these little disasters remind us of connections and family and friends, the beauty and fierceness of nature, and so on.

I could wax philosophical some more, but I need more morning coffee.

Lavender #2 – Stage 2

With a hurricane, what else can you do beside bake bread and listen to music and watch TV or read a book?

Paint, of course!

Below is Stage 2 of my Lavender #2 of yesterday. I worked on brushwork, details, and all those other lovely things. It is still mounted on the coroplast and taped down, but I like to see what I have by importing the image into Lightroom and then adding a frame. It does help me see things.

I am not too sure where I am at with this painting – I rather like it, but it is a bit more fiddly than I want it to be. I tend to dab – other people I know tend to use short vertical strokes. What I would like to see is an effective stroke, simple, long or short, in my own work. Not easy to do . . .

The rain is falling with a soft sound – the air is cool – and the birds outside the studio window are twittering away. Time to get away from the lights and the lavender and enjoy the peacefulness of the day.

Lavender #2 – Stage 1

Hurricane Hilary is supposedly barreling toward SoCal, so after battening down the hatches and getting a virus and sleeping for more hours during the day and night than normal, running a fever, I finally emerged with some sense of clarity today and accomplishment insofar and I am awake-ish and my mind may be capable of functioning. And, I am bored with being so uncreative and dedicated to duty and chores that need to be done despite the desire to crawl back into bed.

So, more lavender. Let’s just call it Lavender #2 for now, as I am sure there will be other versions sometime in the future. Stage One is below.

I am using the Golden Fluid Acrylics again, and really do like them the more I use them. The paper is some badly sized watercolor paper which is fine for acrylics and dreadful for watercolors. It is 15×20. I mounted it on a piece of coroplast with some tape and went to work. Because of its size I put it on my easel.

I have my paints to the right, with the window facing east. Lots of LEDs with variable lighting – I hate overheads! Anyway, I adjusted the easel to my height and find I rather like this set up. The easel is lightweight aluminum and folds flat. The esposo is kind enough to fetch it when asked as it resides on a shelf in the garage, up high and out of the way.

Colors, at this point, are limited. So far I have used yellow ochre, chrome green, carbazole violet, titanium white, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, and a drop or two of cadmium yellow medium. My palette is a mess. I just cannot create a tidy one like other artists . . .

For today, I am done. I am getting tired, but painting is refreshing! That is definitely good for the soul.