All Digits on Deck

Yes, the cats helped measure the plastic for the 3-H.  I'm sure they did.

Oh, Is It Autumn?

I prefer to think of it as late summer.  And under the double protection offered by our 3-H once it's completed, it will still feel like late summer.

Paul installed part of the plastic on the 3-H today.  We needed to get all the spinach and lettuce seeds in the soil today.

We also planted the first of our radishes and onions.  Only two more weekends are available for successive  plantings.  In the meantime we're waiting for seeds to plant our mâche, which is known as corn salad in the United States or lamb's lettuce in England.

If all goes as hoped, our winter garden will mature enough in the autumn for us to harvest in winter, when our boxes will be further protected with floating row covers.

Can you imagine dining on fresh homegrown salads in the winter?  We can.

As we bask in the glow of hope, it's time to call it a day.

Not Framed: I Really Did It

The height of the windows from the inside is one thing.  The height from outside is just a little bit more.  Look carefully, and a small person in navy blue should be visible next to that red space elevator leaning against the building.  Near the top of that ladder is where I've spent two of my recent afternoons.

In preparation for winter and to protect the wood storm window frames and trim from its effects, I've been scraping out old glazing and paint while trying to balance comfortably on the narrow ladder rungs.

The view from there isn't always pretty, either:

What is that cloudy stuff on the inside of the glass?!  I don't know, but I really didn't want to leave it there.  We hadn't been planning to take the storm windows down, and Paul was reluctant to undertake that project, even though it would be the only way to clean it up.  What to do?  Leave it there to spoil the look of the freshly painted windows?  Or spend a lot more time on each window than we'd originally thought?

The answer came in a way I would have rathered it didn't:

Yes, that's a crack.  I applied to much force on the putty knife in trying to get out that old, stubborn, dried-out glazing, and I cracked the glass.  Argh.

Long story short, Paul climbed the ladder to take a look at the situation and began taking out the panes of glass.  Now I'm cleaning the windows (I still don't know what that stuff is, and it's awfully stubborn about coming off!), and he's being more particular about removing the old paint from the wooden frame.

It would seem that to do the job right we can't just paint the weathered wood; because of its age and condition we need a wood restoring product that will allow the paint to properly adhere for years to come.

It's not that I don't like hanging out with a paint scraper in the upper strata of the troposphere, but I'd really prefer to do the job right the first time and do something more enjoyable a second time.

Wouldn't you?

Introducing the 3-H

Remember this?  This past spring it became this:

and this:

Then this:

and this:

What a great spot this is for growing things, and what a great blessing it is to have fresh, homegrown greens!  We've enjoyed it so much, in fact, that we decided to enlarge on it.  Now it's become this:

and this:

It's what I call "The 3-H", or sometimes "The Triple H".  I confess I can get a little funny with household acronyms, but you can imagine how cumbersome it would become to keep calling it what it is:  a half of a high hoop.  Not a greenhouse, exactly, because there won't be any artificial heat or forced ventilation; just wind protection and solar heat retention.  Then, coupled with some floating row covers or some full-fledged cold frames, we hope to someday plant some cool season crops for a winter harvest.  Paul holds out hope that we aren't too late to try it this year, but I'm not so sure.

Work is still unfolding, so I'll continue to post pictures so you can see how it all comes together.

And now that the temperatures are cooler, we have a lot of work projects going on.  I should have plenty to write about!

Capture that Cat!

She plays with words, yet somehow she doesn't understand, "Get off, you silly little cat!"

These kittens provide so many opportunities to learn the tools of our trade... when they hold still long enough for me to secure a good focus!  While I don't ultimately approve of Pipes' perch, I did chuckle and run for the good camera.

I like this picture because in it I notice the colors of the stained glass window reflected on the Scrabble board. The shallow depth of field naturally draws my attention to Pipes' beautiful markings while communicating enough of her environment to contrast that innocent look with her obvious misdeed.

Since our fledgling family business includes video shooting, this summer we invested in the purchase of a Canon EOS 7D, a digital SLR camera with excellent high definition video capabilities.  As a digital SLR camera, I find it much easier to approach than a video camera, so I'm more apt to pick it up and practice using it.  Paul finds that he needs to adapt his thinking to this different mode of shooting, but my mind is a blank slate in that regard.

I enjoy learning how to use it, but I have to admit that I don't usually mess with the manual settings; the creative auto setting is good enough for me.  Instead, I focus my attention on composition, lighting, and, well... focusing.  Shooting in video mode particularly requires the operator to not only be competent, but quick.

I suppose that's why it's a good thing I like to practice on our spunky kittens.

Satisfying Scraps

I did not make this up; I have to credit Martha Stewart's Living magazine for showing us how to turn discarded tomato skins into a fabulous seasoning: dehydrate, then grind. So simple (and beautiful and delicious)!

I need to mention, however, that these skins did not come from our garden tomatoes.  No, the Hawbakers have been saving them for us as they peel the tomatoes they've been canning.  Such great friends!

We are growing our own tomatoes, though, and some of our surplus tomatoes are going into the freezer while we dehydrate the rest.  Putting up produce for the winter is new for us, and we're having a great time with it.  We feel so blessed by the Lord!  As Psalm 103 says, He satisfies our mouths with good things.

I can't fail to mention that all this dehydrating is thanks to the largess of another friend who is loaning us her Excalibur 3000 series dehydrator.  What a great machine!  Lori, you are a blessing to us.  Thanks so much!

The...Nest

Even the kitten has found a home, and the mama cat a nest where she may bring her young--even the old pump organ, O Lord of hosts.

--a contextualization of Psalm 84:3

Last year a foreclosure forced a family out of the house across the street, and last year a darling tortoise shell cat was abandoned. This sweet cat befriended us early this summer as we tended the yard and garden, and one evening after she'd been visiting and feasting with us for over two hours, she led us to her litter of kitties which she kept safely in the hobby barn on the foreclosed property.

Eager and mewing for the long-awaited nourishment from their mama, five adorable kittens perhaps five or six weeks old tumbled out of the barn. A gray tabby, an orange tabby, an orange tabby with white spots, a black kitty, and a calico. We immediately fell in love with them and earnestly hoped we could rescue them from street living.

We fell into the habit of crossing the street for a visit with the mama cat and the boldest of her kittens. At the end of one of my solo visits, she astonished and delighted me by calling for her kitties to follow me home. Only three of the five followed, however, and they took a really long time summoning up the daring to cross our threshold. And then there were still two remaining to collect, but Mama Catt showed no interest in retreiving them.

We've never encountered mama cat behavior before, and we feared for the other kitties' safety, so we would brought them food, trying to entice them out. They wouldn't take our food, so the kids would pick up Mama Catt and bring her to them.  By doing this, Aelsa and Paul were able to nab the other kittens, hissing and growling, clawing and trembling, so they could be reunited with their litter mates.

Mama Catt has transitioned quite nicely to being an indoor cat again.  Her offspring, however, aren't quite as trusting of their human companions, especially when they need a dusting of diatomaceous earth to kill the pests living in their fur.  But they do like to play with us, and the kids get to experience what it's like to have kittens in the house.  We figure it's just a matter of time before we have their trust and affection.

And it looks like we'll have these kittens longer than we'd naively expected.  We hoped we would be able to rescue the kittens and find good homes for them before too much time slipped away from us, but few people are interested.  We can't imagine dropping any of them off at a shelter to join twenty or so other cats in confined quarters, so we'll keep caring for them, all the while praying that we can find a home for three of them.

Wouldn't you like to share your home and affections with a sweet little kitten?