GimletBlog

Our Early Girls did not disappoint:  despite our garden’s late start, today Thing Two was able to harvest his very first tomato.  He decided that he would like to eat it for his before-bedtime snack.

The verdict?  Delicious!

He was a little disappointed that the second reddish-looking tomato on the plant wasn’t quite ready to pick yet, because he would have happily eaten another one.  The tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes, though, so it won’t be much longer before Thing Two will have many more.  The cucumbers and carrots are still pretty tiny, and we’re waiting anxiously for the pumpkins to start growing.

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We hope Thing Two’s garden will produce a harvest, in spite of the late start of summer.  Every day he enjoys watering and caring for his rapidly growing plants.

The spearmint and peppermint are doing great in their new home.

The basil and cucumbers make their debut.  So many different shades of green!

Meanwhile, Thing Two has also become interested in astronomy, and on the few cloudless summer nights we’ve had, he’s been allowed to stay up and look at the stars.  Thing One also liked planets and stars when he was about the same age, so the books, solar system mobile, and bed sheets we had bought about ten years ago are now being put to good use again by by a new little stargazer.

As with all of Thing Two’s interests, he is eager to talk to anybody and everybody about constellations and the planets.  Much of the information is accurate, and some is his own invention.  He especially likes to create his own constellations.

• All about Boötes, the herdsman or ploughman, and the first constellation Thing Two was able to see in the night sky.  He was so excited to finally see a real constellation that he danced all around the deck.

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Thing Two has been very pleased to watch his plants grow bigger and bigger.  He is less excited about the need to thin the plants, as he hates to lose any of the seeds he has so carefully tended.

The mint starts we received last year from Thing Two’s great-aunt outgrew their pots, so this year we’ve moved the mint into small raised beds:  spearmint on the left, peppermint on the right.  The transplanted mint looks rather dismal; while we keep repeating the promise that “you can’t kill mint”, we’re reminded of Jane Austen’s 1811 letter to her sister:

I will not say that your mulberry-trees are dead, but I am afraid they are not alive.

However, today we were relieved to observe several tiny new shoots in the boxes, so perhaps reports of the mint’s demise are exaggerated after all.

We also added a rosemary shrub to our herb collection.  We have been enjoying its fragrant leaves, and our honeybee neighbors have started collecting water from its drainage holes.

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While Thing One is away at the National Jamboree, Thing Two could use a little cheering up.  We were glad to be invited by some friends to spend a day at the zoo.

One of our friends’ favorite places at the zoo is the Willawong Station.  During the summer, one can purchase a seed stick for $1 to feed the birds.

We discovered that height is a definite advantage when trying to attract a bird, so perhaps we can convince Uncle Q to join us at the zoo when he visits next month.

The snow leopards and the tiger were sleeping (not surprising to those of us who own cats) but climbing on the snow leopard sculpture, and the other animal sculptures around the zoo, is fun.

Thing Two’s favorite animals were the Gila monsters and the Komodo dragons.

He was also fascinated to watch the snakes during their feeding time.  Sorry, no photos, but rest assured it was quite exciting!  In all our years visiting the zoo, we have never seen the snakes so lively.  However, Thing Two avoided the pond turtle next to the snake exhibits because, in his words, “The pond turtle is kind of creepy.”  Would the pond turtle have seemed less creepy to Thing Two if it had been swallowing mice?

A few exhibits are all these four year-olds can handle, so after visiting the penguins, it was time to take our very tired little friends home.

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Our week of sunny, hot weather did the trick and Thing Two’s seeds are flourishing, much to his satisfaction.

This year we have increased the amount of basil and chives, and Thing Two chose to add carrots, cucumbers, and pumpkins to his crop.  One tomato plant has two tiny green tomatoes on it and we hope more will follow.

Our neighbor’s honeybees have provided much to observe this week as well.

Every day they cluster in the drainage holes of our peppermint and lemon mint pots. (but not the spearmint; we wonder why?)  An internet search revealed that the bees are most likely collecting water from the mint pots and taking it to their nearby hive, where the water evaporates and cools down the hive.

Sure enough, if we watch closely, we can track the bees flying back and forth between the hive and our potted plants.  We assume the water is minty and lemony fresh, and wonder what effect this will have on our neighbor’s honey.

It has been fascinating to watch our friendly little apian neighbors find a way to stay cool.

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(Cross-posted on Sinister Craftiness.)

Apparently Nanaimo was jealous of all the attention Chinook has been receiving for his recent illness (two car rides to the vet, nightly pills and gel in a syringe) so he has one-upped his housemate by sneaking into the craft room and swallowing an embroidery needle.  Nanaimo’s fondness for thread has been previously documented on the blog, but Your Humble Narrator spent over an hour crawling around the downstairs on hands and knees, hoping the needle would turn up, before admitting her most dread suspicions and calling the veterinarian.

The X-rays confirmed our fear:

A variety of options for removing the needle were presented but none seemed to be as effective as surgery.  With a heavy heart and light wallet we left Nanaimo at the veterinarian’s office to be operated on later that afternoon.

The veterinarian called us after the surgery to let us know that it went very well.  The silk thread which had tempted Nanaimo in the first place had wrapped itself around the needle like a cocoon, preventing the needle from doing any damage to his insides, but also causing it to lodge tightly in his stomach, so surgery really was the only option after all.

The next day, Your Humble Narrator and Kitty Grandma (also known as Hå to her human grandchildren) visited the patient.  Nanaimo was pretty miserable but calmed down a little when he recognized his family, and the visit seemed to comfort him. We also collected the souvenir needle.

Wednesday morning Nanaimo came home with a row of stitches on his shaved tummy (which should help him stay cool this summer) and wearing a “cone of shame” to protect his stitches.

Now he, too, has pills to take and follow-up visits to the veterinarian.  Chinook gave Nanaimo the once-over and fled from him as though he were a space alien, or perhaps he recognized the scent of the vet’s office.

By our reckoning, Nanaimo has used up at least three of his nine lives thus far.  The Gimlet hasn’t decided whether this incident should be categorized under the the pet budget or the embroidery budget, but he is determined to get as much enjoyment as possible out of Nanaimo stumbling around, bumping into furniture and walls, or futilely trying to chase the light reflecting off the collar snaps.

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It’s strawberry time!  Last year I found this tasty strawberry clafouti recipe in Sunset magazine, and have been eager to make it again this summer with our sweet, tender local fruit.  It is a delicious dessert or brunch.

Strawberry Clafouti

• 1/2  tablespoon butter
• 8 ounces strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise*
• 2  teaspoons cornstarch
• 3  eggs
• 1  cup milk
• 2/3  cup flour
• 1/4  cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2  teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
• Powdered sugar

* While the recipe calls for 8 ounces, I choose to completely fill the bottom of my gratin dish with chopped berries instead of the measured amount, because you really can’t have too many fresh strawberries.

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 2-qt. baking or gratin dish with the butter. Toss strawberry halves with cornstarch until evenly coated, then arrange berries, cut side down, in bottom of dish and set aside.
• In a blender, whirl eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt 15 seconds. Pour batter over strawberries.

All the strawberries the dish can handle, and the batter is ready to be poured.

• Bake until puffed, golden brown, and set in the center, about 50 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Just out of the oven, and dusted with powdered sugar. Yum.

Between all the preparations for sending Thing One off on his adventures, and the decidedly unsummery weather we have been experiencing, we’ve been a little slow to start up Thing Two’s garden.  He wants to grow cucumbers and pumpkins this year, so inspired by this Sunset magazine article, The Gimlet built a 4′ x 6′ raised bed.

Thing Two supervised the construction process from a safe distance.

The finished product met with Thing Two’s approval, except for the fact that the box has no growing vegetables in it.  But that will come soon …

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