karl.tsakos.us/blog

A very happy New Year to all.

I started my year reviving a tradition I forgot to do last year. I don’t remember why, I think it’s because the weather was crappy or something. Anyhow, the tradition is to go for a New Year’s Day hike. Normally I would select some place lofty, most likely in the Hudson highlands. This year was a little different.

First, it snowed New Year’s Eve. I was pretty certain there would be no good parking spots near any of the usual trail heads. At least, not spots I could get out of once I got in them.

Second, I’m lazy. To be clear, I am not lazy when it comes to the hiking itself. That would just be silly. I am however lazy when it comes to driving an hour to go hiking.

The fact is, staying local for a hike (or several small hikes to me more accurate) paid off. I saw more wild life in a suburban area, in one day, than I have seen one all my other day hikes combined. I hiked in a couple nature preserves and an amusement park located in the midst of residential neighborhoods. No, not where houses are packed together, but still.

The first hike was in the Marshland Conservancy in Rye, about six miles from where I live. Here I started my hike by seeing a large woodpecker banging his head on what sounded like a very hard tree. I then passed through a heard of about 10 deer. While I say I passed through the heard, it was spread out and many were trying to hide behind the trees. As I continued my hike I saw a large assortment of small seed eating birds and large water foul. The only birds I didn’t see where the turkeys I know live in the park. I did however see their tracks in the snow.

The next place I went was the boardwalk at Playland amusement park, also in Rye. There were many people out enjoying the day and strolling on the boardwalk. There was also a young child who I didn’t see, but who kept shouting, “Happy New Year,” at the top of his lungs. Well, he did far a little while and then I think his parents regained control. Other than dogs, there wasn’t much wild life to be seen by the beach. However, out at the end of the pier (1. a structure leading out from the shore into a body of water), overlooking the beach, there sat a lone seagull on a wooden pier (2. a solid support designed to sustain vertical pressure) cleaning itself and attempting to keep its beak warm. I assume that’s what it was doing since it kept tucking it under it’s winds.

Finally, I finished my day at the Read Sanctuary. This is a bird sanctuary located at the end of the parking lot for Playland. During the summer, you need a special parking permit to get to the sanctuary. But, when the Playland is closed for the season, you can just drive through it’s massive lot unimpeded. While the sanctuary is home to many birds of all sorts as well as a magnificent stand of bamboo, today’s main attraction had to be the hawk sitting atop a low tree eating a squirrel. It is rare to see such a bird up close, especially when it is dining. I was told by some other people that they saw a bald eagle there. I didn’t know whether they meant that day or once. Either way, I think they were just bragging.

You can see photos of my adventures on my website, in the photo section.

Enjoy, and have a happy and prosperous New Year!

One of the most common locations for me to drive is the on ramp to route 287. I go that way during my commute to work every week day. Some evenings and every weekend I go to Rockland county, also getting on 287 at that entrance.

For the past week, there has been a pair of mattresses by the side of the road there. A box spring off to the left just before the entry ramp and the mattress off on the shoulder to the right. It boggles my mind that someone could lose a mattress set while driving. If it did fly off the car, one would hope they would be aware of it. And for the two of them to sit for a week unclaimed and the town not clearing them just amazes me.

This morning on my way to Rockland, I was pleased to see the mattresses were gone. Not a sign of them remained. However, exactly at the same location on the road where the mattresses were, just at the beginning of the entrance ramp, was a pair of shoes. Just sitting there between the two lanes. Like the mattresses, they looked to be in perfectly good condition. Just sitting there in the middle of the road.

How does a thing like this happen? Losing something strapped to the roof of the car is one thing. After all, it’s already on the outside of the car. But, something that is normally found inside the car, and more usually on the feet of the occupants should never wind up in between two lanes of traffic.

All I know is I can hardly wait to see what appears there next. It’s like some sort of bizarre Advent Calendar in the road greeting me every day.

You’re saying I have a blog?

No, this doesn’t sound familiar. Please continue.

Okay, let me get this straight, I have this thing “on line” where I write down whatever comes to mind and then people read it. Doesn’t sound very realistic.

Okay, if you say they do.

What about gardening?

Oh, yes, I did have a lot to say about that. But of course, now there isn’t much happening in the garden at this time of year. Sure, there’s some kale and leeks. The garlic I though was dead sprouted late fall. We’ll see what it has to say next spring. But, that’s about it. Nothing else is really happening in the garden. Oh, of course my compost pile is coming along nicely.

Talk about something else?

I suppose I could do that. But what?

Well, I’m sure I’ll think of something.

As any gardener knows, this year the tomato blight is out of control. As my Mother has told me, all tomato plants get blight, so be prepared. Unfortunately, this year is one of the worst for it. The weather has been cool and rainy for most of the summer, the dreaded blight’s favorite conditions.

New Jersey, which gains much revenue from their tomato harvest, has been very hard hit. Apparently, they have had to sacrifice the majority of their crops. Conventional wisdom is once the plant has it, get rid of the plant. I am trying to buck conventional wisdom. Being the inexperienced gardener I am, I have excuses to experiment blindly.

For one thing I refuse to give up on my plants. Instead of removing any plants showing leaves that dry over night, I am removing the offending branches. As a result, my plants have most of their foliage about two feet above the ground. That’s a good thing as the blight can be transfered to the leaves from soil that splashes on the plants in the rain.

My method of preventative maintenance likewise bucks convention. I have never been a fan of chemicals (they’re scary) and don’t like the idea of spraying my food with any. After some research on the Internet, I came up with the plan of spraying the plants weekly or after a rain with a solution of one part milk and seven parts water. Milk is a sort of fungicide. In addition, tomato plants can always benefit from calcium, so it the runoff is also beneficial.

I have no idea if this will work, but I have my fingers crossed.

I’m still waiting for a tomato to ripen. I have several large tomatoes right on the brink of ripening. At the moment it’s a race of time. I’ve already lost two tomatoes to the blight. I know because they were far from ripening and were going bad from the stem. Stupid blight.

All I want is to make a salad of heirloom tomatoes with some olive oil on them. Of all the plants I planted this year, this is the one real goal I had. The tomatoes are it. Everything else was just for the sake of seeing what would grow. Turns out, most things. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed my harvested plants thus far. I have thoroughly. I have enjoyed everything from the prepping the garden beds, to selecting the plants, to starting them from seed and watching them grow. The joy of eating what I’ve grown has been a pleasure.

It’s just that I really want to eat my own, home grown tomatoes. That’s not too much to ask. Is it?

Right now, I’m sitting in the back yard with a warm July breeze blowing and a nice cold Gin and Tonic. In the Kitchen the beets and carrots from my garden are roasting in the oven with rosemary, garlic, oil, and vinegar. The pasta water is heating and I’ll check it soon. This is going to be an experimental dish. I forgot to get some lamb chops to go with the veggies. We’ll see how it goes.*

It’s been brought to my attention recently that I don’t blog about anything but my garden. That’s something that has been lingering in the back of my mind as well. I know I have other things to say, but now, as I sit down to write, the garden is the topic that pleases me the most. I’m sure I will return to writing about other things when I start spending less time outside. Two cases in point: the band is very close to being done recording and then I will have lots to talk about with that and, I’m working on a video podcast but I want to have a couple of episodes under my belt before I launch it.

So, we are left with the garden for the time being.

Did you know potato plants bear fruit? I didn’t know that either. No, I’m not talking about the potatoes themselves, those are tubers. Actual growths on the stem under ground. The plants themselves produce flowers and from the flowers small green tomato like things grow.

As a matter of fact, both plants are closely related. That is of course why their names both end in “ato.” Actually, I just made that up. The potato’s latin name is “Solanum Tuberosum, “ and the tomato’s is “Solanum Lycopersicm.” They are both members of the nightshade family – the deadly nightshade family. And, while tomatoes are edible, the stems, leaves, and fruit of potato plants all contain glycoalkaloids, most prevalent of which are solanine and chaconine. These poisons affect the nervous system resulting in weakness and confusion. And, of course, could result in death.

I just love growing plants that both produce an enjoyable edible component and something that might kill me all at the same time.

Speaking of edible members of deadly plant families, my tomato plants are out of control! The ones I started are all about two and a half feet tall. The plants my mother gave me are over three feet tall. And not only have they all started flowering, but several are growing tomatoes. And, speaking of growing, my cucumber plants have also started flowering and producing little spiny cucumbers.

I striped out the sugar snap plants, which were dying, and removed their trellis. The bed is now fully occupied by the cucumbers and potato plants. That and a lone pepper plant that deiced it was going to try and survive despite being hidden under the cucumber plant. Oh, and the bean plants I planted are now producing beans.

More to come on the garden and other topics. I promise.

* For the record, the pasta with grilled carrots and beets was delicious. Some of the garlic was a little burnt, but other than that it was just right.

It’s been a while since my last update. A lot has been going on outside of the garden that has distracted me from my reports. Things have slowed down now and I’m taking the time to enjoy having a yard. The sun has just gone down but the sky is still light. The birds are quietly chirping in the trees before they retire for the evening. And, I’m sitting in my backyard by the garden, watching the fireflies and enjoying a Rusty Nail.

The garden is quite lush thanks to all the rain we have had recently. It’s been nice not having to water every day. I don’t water the day after a good rain either, the roots need a little bit of a break. So, the garden has proved to be low maintenance for the most part.

I’ve been enjoying the sugar snap peas. I have been steaming them and then serving them with pasta, mint leaves, and feta cheese. Quite a delicious meal. The mustard greens, although gone to flower, are nice and spicy. My friends and I have discovered they go perfectly on a hamburger.

I’ve learned from the sad excuse for a frame I made to support the sugar snap peas that I really should get something a little better equipped to handle the wind for the beans I planted. I purchased a couple of 2-foot wide trellises at the home center and set them up leaning slightly out of the garden bed. The make a very nice addition to the garden. I’ve also started staking the tomato plants. That’s right, not only have the plants my mother gave me done well, but the plants I started which gave me such trouble for so long are now almost as big as hers.

Everything else is coming along quite nicely as well. I’ve stopped eating the first batch of lettuce as it’s bolted, but the next batch will ready for eating in about a week. My kale is healthy, but really is supposed to be best after a frost. I’m not entirely sure why I planted it so early. Just a miscalculation I guess. Hey, get off my back – first time gardener.

The only thing not working out so well are the pepper plants. The weather has been overcast or cool and the peppers are being overshadowed by the out of control potato plants. I think when all is said an done I will have just one pepper plant. The herbs are also doing, well, okay. They aren’t growing very fast and the yield seems to be less than I was hoping for. I think I need to give them their own bed next year and not keep them in planters. But then again, the weather may have a lot to do with it.
I was going to write about how I have spent several evenings in the back yard and haven’t seen any bats. Well, that would now be a lie. I’ve now seen at least two of them flying around as I write this. I love to watch their tortured flight paths as they try to catch their prey.

While I’ve spent so much of my time thinking about how great it is to have a yard to garden in, I’ve forgotten about it’s other pleasures. After work I’ve come out here with a drink and just sat quietly admiring my handy work and watching the slow progress of the garden. I’ve made myself breakfast and sat here eating it in the early morning sun. I’ve had friends and family here for grilled dinners and frivolities. In all, the enjoyment I’m reaping from this yard and garden is greater then the effort I have put in. Heck, the work I have put in is a pleasure too.

It’s been a rainy week. Some plants are going to flower, other are stupid annoying plants who refuse to grow beyond their cotyledon state.

I picked a not so great week to be on vacation. It’s rained almost every day and has been overcast ninety percent of the time. Temperatures have been lurking in the sixties. Not much inspiration for getting out and gardening or doing much else outside for that matter. I did go mountain biking with my friend one day. Hey, part of mountain biking is getting muddy. But at home, the rain and cool temperatures have lead to mushrooms growing on the lawn and in the garden. So, I haven’t been out in it much as it’s a less fun muddy.

On the other hand, the rain has been great for the garden. Most of my plants are growing like gang busters. My snap peas have started to flower. Good news since that means I will soon have snap peas to eat. Then again, the mustard greens have also gone to flower. I’m not sure what that means for mustard greens. When lettuce and spinach bolt and then flower, the leaves aren’t very tasty anymore. Mustard greens are already bitter; will have to investigate.

Speaking of mustard greens, they’re very good on a grilled burger. I’m just sayin’.

The lettuce has been bountiful and I’ve been enjoying fresh salads whenever the mood strikes me. The new lettuce plants have sprouted, but I think there will be a gap between their being edible and the others bolting. Ah well, there will be other vegetables to keep me occupied.

Pretty much any of the plants I started indoors have stalled at the cotyledon stage. I moved them all into the garden where some have died and others seem to have started growing, all be it slowly. I planted some beans about a week ago and they are already bigger than the indoor seeds. I’ve added some fresh chicken manure around the garden with hopes that it will help. It could just be that the potting soil I got is worse then crap (since I’m using crap for fertilizer and that does work).

My herbs are all doing fairly well, except of course for the ones I started indoors. I already gave up on the sage and bought some at the store. If I don’t see signs of improvement in the next few days, it will be the same fate for my basil and thyme. Coincidently, the herbs I started growing outdoors, such as the fennel and chives, are doing well.

Speaking of herbs, I was finally able to find some marjoram, but I’m still unable to find any tarragon. Oh, there’s plenty of basil, oregano, sage, and thyme at the stores, but there seems to be a real lack of the less common herbs. I wonder why that is. No, really – I wonder.

Not much else is happening in the garden. Until next time then.