Yellow harvest

So far, the only vegetables we've been able to pick have been these four yellow beans. I suggested a four-bean salad and the lady explained that I had the wrong idea about that recipe. Still, we worked them into a salad, lightly blanching them to keep them crisp while slightly cooked, and they were mighty tasty.


Despite the tiny yield thus far, the garden is coming along, slowly but surely. The grape tomatoes above are the among the most prolific of the plants, though still shy of ripeness. We have pulled some mint and rosemary from the herb section, both mixing deliciously with local lamb.

See here for more on that.

Boom!

While a first set of fireworks was less than fully satisfying, likely for being held on the night of the 3rd, another round on the 4th over nearby Canadarago Lake offered a more fulfilling show. It helped that we trespassed on private property to get down to the lakeshore, finding the perfect spot to catch the show as well as a gang of other enthusiastic viewers. We even met the friendly property owners who didn't mind one bit that we just wandered down to their beach. Good country folk. Here are some pics of the show, without color adjustment.

It's a Parade!

One of the big local traditions is a 4th of July parade in the very small town of Springfield, New York, officially our town (sort of, our mailing address is in another town and our phone extension is in a third while our home is on the tax list for Springfield). This year was their 95th annual event, and we couldn't miss it. It's an impressive turnout for a town with a population of 1386, and the kids love it, standing close to the road in order to catch candy tossed out from most of the passing floats.

old fire truck

candy-heaving clown

Popeye waving from an antique car

This train car has a very small cannon that actually fires

This boy doesn't like the cannon

Um...recycle

After the parade, there was a flag-raising ceremony, patriotic songs sung by boy scouts, plenty of pie and barbecue offerings, and a brass band playing under a tent, true rootin-tootin country fun.

Shatterer of Worlds

Upon visiting the cabin in April, we were quite excited to find enough furniture in good condition to avoid a costly and exhausting U-Haul ride from the city. However, our inspection turned out to be less than comprehensive. I discovered and surreptitiously disposed of one drawer full of chewed nesting material, doing my best not to look or smell too closely. Then the lady found her own, even larger treasure trove, a former mouse hotel (and current graveyard), promptly passing it off to me for dumping duty. Both bureaus moved outside for cleaning, though one proved impervious to all manner of cleaning products, both eco-friendly and -angry, its festering stench of dead rodent remaining.

After spending a few weeks in proper country form, furniture sitting in the yard, I finally got around to hacking it up with an axe. This was something new for me.

And I like it.

Very much.

Must smash all.

Destroyer's remorse?

Nope

What next? Burn it!

Burn it all

Keeper of the cleansing flame

Renovations

I only recently learned that members of the Hudson River School such as Frederic Edwin Church not only painted the landscapes of upstate New York, but also shaped them. Church carved out the landscape around his homestead, hiding fences and other unnatural constructions from the vantage point from which he would paint.

I had this in mind as I was examining the hillside that overlooks the creek and noticed a couple of dead trees. I'd missed them before, tall enough that I hadn't recognized them for the rotting, virtually branchless posts that they were. Like any creative lover of the arts, I got out my axe.

before

after

Note that only one of the trees is visible in these pics.

How to cook squirrel

The cabin has limitations when it comes to the kitchen. The refrigerator is reasonably new and, though small and with a major frosting problem, works well. The stove, an ancient 3-burner model from a time before even numbers came to define symmetry, appeared rock solid. I bought a propane tank and the necessary hose and connectors to run to the copper pipe out back. I then used the old soapy water method of testing a gas connection and found that my outside pipe had a leak. Unwilling to take the same risks with propane that I will with electricity and fire, I stopped there and made a call to the local gas company.

While I awaited their response, I considered the value of this little stove with its shelves instead of an oven, and examined a substitute in the attic above the garage. The much newer, if conformist, model offered 4 burners and an oven, as well as access to the burners beneath the cover to remove any debris. So far, I hadn't been able to crack the old one without power tools to clean out at least the leaves, paper and possibly mouse debris inside. Of course, the new one had to come down a flight of narrow stairs, then the hill to our place. I figured, correctly, that I could shimmy the reasonably light oven to the top of the stairs and then slide it down on its back. While this invited potential contention for a Darwin award, particularly if I chose to do it alone so as to avoid naysayers and those who promise yet fail to deliver actual help, I managed it, rather painlessly. I even discovered a sharp alternative to the wheelbarrow for the ride down the hill, a convenient trailer for the tractor mower.


Once outside, I cleaned the new stove from top to bottom, then made the swap, again moving both stoves in a kind of awkward wobbling shamble, avoiding scratching up the kitchen floor or damaging either appliance. I had worked up the courage to give the propane another shot but due to a height difference in the two stoves, I can't connect the new one with the same pipe, at least not without cutting and refitting the pipe connectors, a task that requires another tool I don't own. So, I'm awaiting another call back from the propane company, hoping I can convince their agent to hook me up even if I might be breaking a code or two with my setup of a barbecue propane tank wedged between cinderblocks outside.


In the meanwhile, for the past month we've made do with a Cuisinart Griddler, a toaster oven, a crock pot, a fire pit

(which we've only gotten to use twice with all the rain, the first time a painfully long ordeal where I learned that I needed fire and not just coals to cook given the height of the built-in grill, and the second time going much more smoothly and efficiently though still with some pain since I burned myself), and this handy camp stove.


If we make the leap to 4 burners and an oven, it might not even feel rugged anymore. But the lady promises baked goods, so I'm willing to risk it.

Gloves will soon be off

I'm not closing the inside door. I don't care that the screen door doesn't close all the way. That squirrel isn't going to scamper right in the door, even if he could squeeze through the crack. Sure, he's slammed against the window a couple times today and scrabbled along the wood frame as though trying to enter through the window, but that's just him being clumsy as he misses the roof or leaps off the nearby tree after lapping up the last bits of suet. I'm certain of it. Mostly.

I don't mind squirrels. They're not as cute and charming as chipmunks, but they're fun, rambunctious little guys. I didn't even mind that they started gunning for the suet. When I moved it to a much more accessible spot after using its original branch to hang the fuchsia plant, I expected some raiders.


But I'm learning something about the wild here. The word gets out about good grub and more creatures come. We've had several squirrels and chipmunks, with clear recollection of where the suet lies. The suet has been gone since this morning, but they keep coming back, licking and gnawing at the residue on the container. One baby squirrel with a slim red tail dared to venture close though he's the most skittish, and was recently chased off by a large gray squirrel who I initially took to be his parent. Perhaps not.

I'm beginning to wonder if they know that the suet came from us. It clearly wasn't hanging there in that odd little cage before we started showing up a month ago. If we put it out there, and we live inside, perhaps we keep more food inside as well.

OK, no joke, just this second, a large gray squirrel crept up from the other side of the house, curving around and across the front step, eyeing me as he passed by. I chased him off. I think another was on the roof in a different direction, trying to distract me at the time.

I'm going to get my knife. I can't believe I don't own a gun.