Cold front blew in Wednesday, very windy and overcast. That was early yesterday morning. About 11:30 I hauled the garden cart over to the shop yard and started hacking away with the hoe, getting out the roots, and spreading out the dirt and before too long the sky cleared up. I started at the other end this time and finally managed to get the last side of sheet metal out. As I thought, the very end had way more roots in it than the other half, almost solid for the first 6” or so. By the time I'd worked my way in about 3' the cart already had more roots in it than the whole 8' section I did Saturday. By the time I quit not quite through at 1:15, it was mounded up pretty high.
I could have persevered and finished spreading out the last of mound but it was time to go in for lunch which the dog was reminding me of. So, dumped that load on the burn pile and trundled back home. The weather should still be good enough Friday to get out there and finish that, not too hot, not too cold, sunny enough, and start on the last mound of dirt which is 4' x 8' but not as deep as the previous ones so less volume of dirt to move. Still full of roots though. I will be glad to be done with this task.
I brought home a bag of frozen perch fillets from SHARE last week so that's what I fixed for dinner Tuesday night, brown butter fried perch fillets and zucchini tots which are grated zucchini, minced onion, finely grated cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, and an egg. Squeeze all the water out of the zucchini, mix all ingredients, form about a tablespoon of mix into an oval and bake, flipping midway. Not too much trouble and really good.
Speaking of SHARE, Monday was our little holiday potluck 'social'. Pleasant enough and I got lunch out of it. And today, of course, was my SHARE day. Some company had a drive and donated a huge amount of personal hygiene items...toothpaste, tooth brushes, razors, soap, shampoo, shave cream, lotion, creams, and I don't know what all, enough to fill four grocery store carts to overflowing, at least, stuff people don't usually think of donating. And socks. Of course I didn't think to take a picture while I was there but it was really an impressive sight.
So, yeah, the christmas season. Outdoor decorations are popping up, or rather inflating and deflating. I don't really care for those inflatables and the reason is people tend to only have them 'on' at night. Puddles of fabric on the lawn during the day don't really exude 'festive'. This is one neighbor so I do see it inflated and illuminated. Another neighbor has an inflatable creche. Poor little baby Jesus, a puddle on the ground, seems almost sacrilegious.
Around here inflatables are left inflated all the time. I don't like them, bigger and bigger this year. A house downtown has a bear almost reaching a second floor roof. I wonder if it's from a parade.
ReplyDeleteIn Peninsula one house on a double lot went together with a neighbor for a continuous display. Actually, I think the double lot underwrote the entire affair. Every year, more and more. Angels they sure had on high! Donkeys and camels and sheep and shepherds. There are inflatables for all seasons. They had them for all seasons, and by the time Halloween came around, they had the full three lot display of a gallows, not to mention the standard pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteHow cool is this? LOL I love that people decorate for the seasons...I personally feel like it brings us together at a time when circumstances might mean we're alone for the holiday.
Deletei think the idea of inflatables is in the category with those "sagging pants" and a few other fads I can think of! In my North Texas area, most of those atrocities are flat on the ground in the daytime. The people that like them seem to all go overboard. Not a foot of lawn that isn't littered with them; as many as 15-20 humongous eyesores. The view at night no way merits the daytime view. My opinion, of course.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the zucchini recipe. I will make that next week. Yesterday I did the sausage with acorn squash. Delicious, but next time I have to bake the squash longer.
As for the yardwork, you are some ambitious to stay after those roots.
Inflatables look so cheap and trashy. Just put up the lights people. I love zucchini and I'm always looking for a new recipe. This might finally get David to eat them. Next is cabbage. I'll get him to eat that too, somehow.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am not a fan of these inflatable things. They seem to spend more time deflated than inflated, the ones that are not well secured blow away, and in general they seem to be the very definition of bad taste. We make zucchini fritters which are basically the same as your tots, but a little bigger. Some years we get inundated with people giving us zucchini but this year not so much.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to remember that zucchini recipe for next summer. My brother always has lots of extra zucchini from his garden that he passes on to me! Looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteDitto! I love zucchini fixed any way...one of my favorite veggies.
DeleteI think the inflatables are just plain tacky. TACKY!
ReplyDeleteEllen, I think I missed the whole reason for your clearing this piece of ground.
#1 reason: reclaim my tomato cages
Delete#2 reason: reclaim the small white plastic raised bed for future use
#3 reason: it was an overgrown wild tangly eyesore in the middle of the yard and I was tired of looking at it
Makes sense to me!
DeleteI had no idea why the Santa down the street is always deflated on the front lawn when we walk by. What a strange way to decorate for the holidays.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me of the zucchini fritters I used to make. Yum.
I was SURE that the deflated baby you were going to talk about was Trump. Ha! Also, someone commented on my blog that the deflated inflatables look like used condoms during the day.
ReplyDeleteWe are surrounded by de-inflated inflatables. They're just sad. The yard is looking good, you work a lot.
ReplyDeleteRepurpose your Halloween skeletons for a manger
ReplyDeleteThat zucchini looks terrific. (And now it's spelled right. I never can get that word on the first try.) I need some new, enticing veggie recipes, and that one will do. As for those terrible inflatables -- well, what can I say? Once upon a time they weren't so bad, but every year they're larger and more garish. They really aren't attractive. Personally, my favorite this year is a round hay bale Christmas tree down in Brazoria County, at a farm gate. That's real class.
ReplyDeleteI always want to spell it with one C and two Ns, always have to go back and correct it.
DeleteThat yard job just sounds bigger and more difficult every time you write about it. It IS looking good out there, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the inflatables craze, either. Fortunately they're not really a thing here in urban England.
Have to ask because I really do want to make your zucchini fritters... how much zucchini and how much bread crumbs, onion, etc. They look soooo good.
ReplyDelete