Shocking - or not

I've been struggling with the electric fence not working. We've had both solar units out that are supposed to send the sun's power into the vibes that deter the deer, but neither one has delivered that thrilling tingle (the one that makes me swear) when I touch the wire. Dennis bought a tester which proves both units are capable of sending out the juice. I've walked the perimeter and not found anything causing a short in the system. We even bought an actual six foot grounding rod, of which Dennis drove five feet into the ground, to no avail. 

Over the many years I've had the fence, there have been multiple incidents of deer tangling with and breaking the wires. This is because I don't take the whole fence down in the winter, just enough to have the space needed to get the garden tractor in and out of the area. I've patched those various breaks. We think possibly there are too many splices, so my next step is to completely rewire the thing, taking down all the old wire. 

While I've been contemplating that gargantuan task (procrastination is my old friend) I've been busy weeding and then putting more things into the ground. A few more tomato plants, some pepper plants, and my dahlia tubers have all been planted. I've seeded green beans, kidney beans, and two varieties of corn. I have one more package of onion sets to put in, plus basil seed. (Speaking of onion sets, my first planting of those are producing green onions. We've enjoyed the first thinnings.) I kept a lot of flower seeds from last year (zinnias, marigolds, and some of the edible flowers), as well as squash and cantaloupe seeds. Those will be going in next.

The lilacs are in full bloom so it smells wonderful out there. That should last another week or so. I wish they would bloom longer. Most of my new perennials are in the ground. There's a lone sedum to plant. Of course, that means I have one more plot of earth to prepare so it will stand out from the encroaching grasses. I'm planning to purchase grass-killing spray. Maybe I won't have so much to weed-whack later. There's always more that can be done. (You'll note I don't say it will get done.) 

Rhubarb is loving this cooler, cloudy weather with the hints of rain (I'd love more than a hint of that). I have a lot of it begging to be used, so I modified my crusty pie recipe to make a 9x13" pan dessert. There's a lot of sugar involved, so it's delicious. (I'm so glad the Whole Life Challenge is on hiatus right now.) I've also made another batch of the Polish honey/rhubarb drink. 

Crusty Rhubarb Dessert Bars

No-roll base: 

   2 1/4 C flour

   1 1/2 tsp salt

   1 1/2 Tbl sugar

   3/4 C vegetable oil, 

   3 Tbl milk

Filling:

   9 C diced rhubarb

   3 C sugar

   3/4 C flour

   1 1/2 Tbl butter

Crumble Topping:

   3/8 C chilled butter, cut in small pieces

   3/8 C sugar

   3/4 C flour

Heat oven to 350°. 

Base: mix dry ingredients together. Pour in oil & milk. Mix well with a fork. Press into bottom & up sides of a 9x13" pan. Set aside.

Filling: mix together the flour & sugar. Pour over diced rhubarb. Mix well, stirring until most of the dry rhubarb looks wet. Spoon onto the base. Dot with butter. Set aside.

Topping: mix flour & sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. 

Bake 1 hour or until bubbling and topping is browned.

I suggest mixing the filling together before making the base. That will give the sugar more time to pull liquid from the rhubarb.

If you really don't care for rhubarb, this also makes a great apple dessert. Just substitute these ingredients for the filling: 9 C pared, cored, thinly sliced tart apples, 3/4 C sugar, 3/4 C brown sugar, 3 Tbl flour, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Again, dot with 1 1/2 Tbl butter before sprinkling on the topping. The base and topping layers remain exactly the same as in the rhubarb recipe above.