Still Busy

There's been a lot more work completed up here this past week, some in the garden and some in the house. And, of course, as mentioned last week, there's still more to be done.

The goldfinches are voracious. I'm having to refill the feeders almost daily. We have eight set up around the place, but three of those don't see much action. The birdbaths (four) get rinsed out and refilled almost as often.

As soon as I washed windows and installed our two air conditioners, it started a cycle of rains. (Funny how that didn't work last summer.) We had measurable precipitation Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. The wheat crop seeding has therefore been on hold. Dennis is hoping to get back to that Monday afternoon, after we've attended the Memorial Day program in Opheim. We're both hoping to finish putting our crops in by next weekend.

Four types of beans were planted last Tuesday morning. When I returned home that evening after golf, there was the oddest screeching noise as I walked from the garage to the house in the dark. Dennis met me at the screen door, and said it was a fox that's denning close by. So now I know what the fox says, and it's rude!

Wednesday I planted several dahlia tubers in fabric planters I'd tried to grow potatoes in a few years ago. (Who knew they'd require more watering than I gave them?) The tubers were pretty dry, so I hope the miracle of rain will revive them. I did transplant lots of violas into those planters, so at least I'll have those to enjoy. To make space for those planters, a lot of tiger lilies were dug up, as well as lots of volunteer catmint. (I'm using that mint in my beverages, in cooking, and in cold salads. And you can rub the leaves on exposed skin to deter mosquitoes, with the benefit of smelling nice.) A lot of volunteer asparagus starts were also dug up. (None of those are being tossed.)

Thursday was a day off after a beautiful rain. We were able to partake of the senior dinner at the Outpost Cafe in Opheim. Then I accompanied Dennis to Glasgow, and did several errands. He had golf league, and I went to the matinee showing of Fast X.

Friday found me moving most of my houseplants outside for the summer. They've spent the weekend on the back deck, tucked up close to the house, in shade most of the days, getting acclimated to the great out-of-doors again. The ones I'm keeping inside are mostly gathered into our bedroom. Four stay in the kitchen as they're large and would be too much trouble to move. Plus they like that indirect southern exposure. Moving all those plants always makes a mess: a trail of fallen leaves, detritus tracked inside from the back deck, and one pot got dropped so dirt was strewn where I didn't want it. Words were said, but the plant survived. Vacuuming followed the plant exodus.

Following that, I made a batch of energy bites. (2 scoops of vanilla protein powder, 1 C nut butter, 1 1/2 C oatmeal, 1/4 C honey, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 Tbl milk of choice were called for. I added about 1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut, and a chopped up dark chocolate candy bar. Other options would be raisins, chopped dates, chocolate chips, mini M&Ms, or chopped nuts.) I used my largest cookie scoop to form balls of about 1 1/2 Tbl. I froze them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, then transferred to a covered container. I'm keeping them in the fridge for snacks between meals, when hunger hits.

Saturday found me dusting a knick-knack shelf (lots of memories in those items), baking whole wheat bread, and chocolate chip cookies in the cool morning. Can you tell this session of the Whole Life Challenge has ended? In the afternoon, I weeded three rows of the garden, then seeded my corn there. Six tomato plants were also planted and are protected from the sun by upended large plastic cups with the bottoms cut out.

For supper I used a recipe from the back of the quinoa package. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. It's very tasty.

Blueberry Feta Quinoa Salad

2 C water

1/2 tsp salt

1 C quinoa

2 Tbl EVOO

2 Tbl white wine vinegar

1 Tbl honey

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/4 C fresh blueberries

1 C seeded & diced cucumber

1 C crumbled feta cheese

1/2 C thinly sliced green onions

1 C minced fresh mint

Bring water and salt to a boil in a medium pot. Stir in quinoa, reduce heat, cover, & cook 12 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, rinse in cold water, & let cool for at least 1/2 hour. In large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, honey, & salt & pepper. Add cooled quinoa, berries, cucumber, feta, & onions. Toss to mix. Just before serving, gently mix in mint. Serves 4.