Yes, we have no more tomatoes?

I harvested tomatoes on the orange side yesterday, in anticipation of rain today. I'm glad I did. It is seriously raining. So far, .6 inches, but the forecast is predicting it for the next couple of days. That's been the story of this summer. Cool and rainy days followed by 2-5 days of perfect Maine summer weather. Lather, rinse, repeat. 

I AM grateful that we have escaped the hot horrible weather that much of the world has experienced this summer. Truly I am. But I have to say that it will be a disappointment if This Is It. As good as it gets. Well, ok. It's pretty good. Some homegrown tomatoes can't be bad. Even if they're cut off in their youth. And! It's really too soon to tell. Even the drier forecast later in the week isn't going to get above the 70's, though, and tomatoes do like their heat. . .

I had just decided that the eggplant plants were worth having, even if they didn't produce. They are handsome things. And wouldn't you know. . .as soon as I had given them reprieve for their sterility, they are forming fruit. I don't know how I missed the flowers, though it could have been in all of the rain. And many of our fruiting plants (tomatoes, peppers, raspberries, especially beans) like to hide their babies. Probably a sound evolutionary strategy.

Such pretty things, aren't they? With their personal ornamentation of black spines. . .

Meanwhile, my "all hat" zucchini plants are succumbing to powdery mildew. Mine have always had that issue at the end of the season, but these poor guys barely had a chance to show off. I'm thinking I have to get more serious about eating the blossoms, which are ever large and gorgeous. I need to look up why they didn't set. It could have been that there weren't many female flowers? That doesn't really make sense, though. More like the pollinators were less than ambitious because of the cool wet weather.

The apples are coming along, and the Japanese beetles have been seriously discouraged by the weather. Ripening will likely be a couple of weeks late, I think, but that blush of red stripes is reassuring. 

Then, of course, there is the studio production. G.S.'s final pieces are glazed, fired, and winging their way to Texas. I hope he likes them! I also sent a couple of surprises for the other two Grand Children (G.C.'s), since they didn't get to visit this year. I forged copper hooks for the ornaments, reminding me that even though I'm an amateur at clay, I'm a decent metalsmith. 

And of course, my last piece that I made with G.S. was also a box. I think I'm going to start a series of boxes, inspired by the experience.

I still have a couple of tumblers outstanding, and then there is the birdhouse series. I have questioned myself about the functionality of ceramic birdhouses, since my carefully made chickadee house doesn't yet have any occupants, though the squirrels have shown some casual curiosity. I may continue that line with some fairy houses, which always seem to get occupants, invisible as they may be.  

Tomato, tomahto, zucchini

Tomato plants in mid-August

Somewhat predictably, the tomato plants are looking a little scraggly. A technical term only some of you will understand. Smile. However, we got a decent harvest this weekend. . .the cherry tomatoes coming in more abundantly than our Early Girls. We are getting terrific sun today, and it's expected to continue through next Friday, so we should get some good ripening and drying weather.

Food. Love this stuff. . .

Oh, and yes. There are a couple of redskin potatoes in the bottom of the bowl. A couple of our potato plants were beaten down by the rain, so G.S. and I were forced to harvest them a little early. Tasty, but not maximally tasty. I'm looking forward to the real harvest in the fall.

Zucchini plants and flowers

In contrast to the tomatoes, the zucchini plants are lush and gorgeous. They are proving to be mostly hat and little cow, though. We've only gotten 3 medium sized zucchini from these 2 enormous plants so far. One of my daughters said that I had finally managed to plant the right number of plants, after all of these years of over-abundance. I'm not convinced, but will see what the rest of the season holds. It is, I should point out, hardly over. It's only mid-August, but it's been such a strange summer for us. And the powdery mildew on those lower leaves is ominous.

The eggplant I seeded in mid-May is also looking great insofar as leaves are concerned. But we need to get some flowers soon or they'll be strictly ornamental. Not terrible, since they are attractive plants, but note to self: Plant these indoors in March, rather than waiting to direct seed!

Direct seeded Eggplant plants

The most exciting news, though is from the raspberries that I planted just last year. I was not impressed with what I thought was a slow start, but they have really taken off. I let the fall-bearers bear in the spring this year (not cutting them back to the ground in winter) because I thought it unlikely that the fall crop would amount to much this year. I was wrong. We've got a strong fall crop coming along, which is also bring a ton of bees. . .bumble and honey!

 

 

Below is our view from our bathroom window. I went out this morning with my cereal bowl, and picked about a dozen to eat immediately. Yum. How could I ever leave this place now?

Raspberries

OK. Not a great shot, but you can see the green developing fruit. Getting this much in the second year portents great things for subsequent years! Now. If I can just stop having body parts give up on me. . .

Lastly, I wanted to post an image of my G.S.'s ceramic box (and my own and a bowl) in the kiln, awaiting it's first firing. It's amazing how things move forward, if you just keep pushing. Even a little.

Ready to get HOT!

Boxes and homegrown tomatoes. . .

Well. The Grand Son (GS) is back in Texas, about to start school. But we spent some time in the studio before he left, and these were our last projects. Bear with me. They're still greenware (unfired), and mine is darker because it's wetter. GS chose to have a set-on lid, while I decided to make mine into a solid cube and then cut it. Different strokes. GS had actually made a triangular stamp (that had to be bisque fired before using) that is on the lid. It has his initials in it. I, as usual, chose a more botanical theme. 

Making stamps is way fun. We also made some from plant and rock and mulch material that we just gathered from the yard. . .a door from my studio takes us right out there. More on these after they get glazed and finished.

In the meantime, the tomatoes are starting to get serious. They are WAY late this year. The summer has been cool and rainy. I'm sure this is because we installed a COMPLETE drip irrigation system this spring. We haven't needed it once!

Back to homegrown tomatoes. A friend of ours introduced us to Guy Clark and his song, Homegrown tomatoes. There ain't nothin' that money can't buy except true love and homegrown tomatoes. Here's a Youtube for your entertainment pleasure. . . 

Guy Clark Homegrown Tomatoes

 Well. I'll take some images of our tomatoes soon. But in the meantime, I found a bunch of images I meant to share. Some are from MUCH earlier:

We had some awesome peonies this year. . .just Sarah Bernhart cultivar, but I love them so much. Unfortunately the rains of the season just beat them down. I cut them and brought them inside to EXTEND their lives, which is almost never the case. Fortunately, the foliage still looks good, so we should have another good showing next year.

And for the record, I am so grateful for our cool rainy summer. The rest of the country has faced broiling terrible heat, and here we are, cool as cucumbers. One of our neighbors told me that she had patients who told her that in some summers, her "bones never had a chance to get warm". I think this might be one of those summers, though we still have more summer ahead of us. We'll see.

I also had a series of disastrous tumblers. Some worked out well (see previous post), but my two favorites had unseen leaks. I had no idea until I filled them with water that they weren't water tight. It's a unique problem in my experience. They were all made from the same clay (except for the porcelain one), made and fired the same way. It was one of those heartbreaking moments in a functional artist's life.

These were the two that leaked. My very favorites, one for my consort, one for me. Sigh.

 

A more successful venture was the dog dish I made for our retiring Border Collie. Pretty sweet. In clay, as in all things, you bake some and  you burn some. More later! 

 

It's just getting silly. . .

 

. . .and so the summer flies by. John and I used to joke that by July 4th, the summer was over. When we worked in academia that was just about true, but it still feels that way sometimes. This is an image that John captured. It's a day lily in front of our garage. The cool summer with tons of rain has brought so many gifts. And some not-so-welcome ones, like a great crop of Japanese Beetles. The little buggers love any Rosaceous crops, so I'm on constant guard with the apples and raspberries. They also have a particular liking for Linden trees. Mine is too small right now to take much abuse, so I've been controlling them on her assiduously. Oh. And oddly, they love one of the cultivars of kale that I'm growing, while they leave the other (the very curly type) alone.

Well. I'm hoping to get back to a more even writing schedule, but need to address my email inbox. After a week in a cabin-on-a-lake, and a week with our oldest Grand Son, it's a mess! More later!

Meanwhile, back in the studio. . .

Small bowl glaze fired twice

The rain has stopped for the time being. I had a wonderful walk with Jasper at our beloved Messalonskee, sprayed the apple trees, did some weeding, and was eventually able to get back to the studio. This time, it was to clean up and photograph some new work. 

I love buttons.

The image to the left was part of a series of about six pieces that elicited a "yuk" from me when I first brought it out of the glaze kiln. It didn't look like this. It was sort of a dull white with a lump of brighter white on the lip. I was ready to toss them all, but something stayed my hand. A week later I was doing some glazing and decided to re-glaze these pieces. What did I have to lose? So I heated them, and then applied a light coat of Pistachio, followed by dipping the lip in Emeraude, which I knew would run like crazy. What I couldn't have predicted is the colors it left in her wake. Very nice complexity for an oxidative kiln. I especially like the orange/red left at the very far margins. A good experiment. A good decision to hold my frustrated hand until a more philosophical me was able to swim to the top.
 

I've also been wanting to make some buttons for two of my favorite jackets. One is a very old dark green swing style that has always has the most boring plastic buttons. When I lost one, I replaced it with a fine silver button that I cast from something in a class. One of my very few casting experiences. I made the ceramic button on the left, above, for that one. It's a little "rustic" looking, but I think I'll like it on that coat. The other coat is a cranberry colored mid thigh length coat that is slicker looking. More urban, if you will. The two copper buttons were ostensibly for that. The one on the right was just a  notion. I took 34 gauge (very thin) copper, annealed it, and leather-hammered it between a plastic embossing template. Then I sweat-soldered it to a brass back (22 gauge), and soldered on a loop. Voila. Button. Relatively simple to make, and I didn't really expect to be taken with it. The middle button is a hollow form (just what it sounds like), and is much more difficult to make. I though this would be my favorite, so I made six of them!  Well. So much for that thought. I love the simpler flatter button, but now need to make 5 more. As we used to say in my lab, "Check your assumptions".

Oval vessel.

This little oval dish is from the thrown-and-altered work I did in my class. (Thank you, Amy, for your patience with my back. . .)  All of the pieces here were unattractive as described above after the first firing. Again, my impulse was to put them in the trash so I would never have to look at the abysmal failure again. My impulse to Not Waste Things kicked in once again, though and I stayed my hand. Smile. Such a quaint turn of the phrase, isn't it?

Anyway, I once again re-glazed (after heating the glazed piece in a microwave,) then applied Pistachio over the whole mess, with a rim of Emeraude. It yielded a different look than the little bowl for some reason. It may have been that I applied the rim glaze less heavily, or just that the combination with the original glazes (the inside is a matt green) gave a different effect. Anyway, it resulted in a piece that no longer embarrasses me. I really like the little foot that I put on after reshaping the thrown sides.

And the inside matt finish is way cool. Humble opinion not.

The last two pieces from the thrown and altered bit were treated roughly the same way, though the little lidded container was re-fired with Forest instead of pistachio. Again. Not an embarrassment, which seems to be my current overreaching goal in life!

Good news? I have a good start on thrown-and-altered work. More good news? It's starting to dry out again, so the garden calls. Turns out, so does the studio. Pleasant tasks all around!

 

 

A Rainy Day Tour

Highland Garden Tour: June

The drive in

 I thought I'd post 3 videos of our gardens on this date. I'm doing this to show you all, but also for posterity. From my current age I can see the time when I can no longer care for this place that I love. Besides, it's been a rainy week. The garden isn't calling as it usually does this time of year, and it seems a worthy pursuit.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICtLMy9Y7A8&list=PL1R9UikVNaOqPnMj7f3-wIV9CEbubUw8C

 

 [Note: Technical difficulties abound. I'll fix this soon! Barb]

Two Lady Slippers

And a tasty morsel to close with. My friend, Rita, spotted these while we were hiking yesterday. Once she saw one, we saw many many many. What a gift!

 

More than a month later. . .

 

Spring Green

This is a busy time of year, but never have I managed my time so badly as to miss over a month of my life! Well, I didn't really miss it. In fact, you could say that I was too engrossed to document anything. That would be a nice way of putting it. 

Conveniently, it has been raining and cool for the past couple of days. My only task was to attempt to control the slugs on the newly germinated basil plants. 

The weather called up a memory of decades ago when we had similar weather for a week in July. In Maine. In a small cabin with only a fireplace for entertainment. Knitting with the daughters ensued, and the memory has become warmer and happier with the years. 

So. Back to the now. 

 

Siberian Bugloss

Spring always begins with the delicate light greening of the trees. I love that period. So full of hope. And, to contradict myself, things begin much sooner closer to the ground. As usual, we had a beautiful outpouring of gifts. Our stay here is new enough that I forget many of the plants that visit in spring, and then leave before the end of summer. Sort of like when you bring out your summer clothes, and find items you had forgotten you had. Or in my case, thought I had thrown away. Yay. Not so foolish after all.

Rhubarb

 The rhubarb gives us not only her lovely bold leaves (which look almost tropical if one doesn't know better), but cakes and a pie. Only one pie, because I eat it every day. Breakfast especially. With sharp cheddar melted on top. Oh my.

The time of year of Really Good Food is upon us.

Anemone

Lungwort

Bleeding hearts

 

The bleeding hearts were especially well placed, thanks to the previous owners. Right in front of the front covered porch. They cover the bottom of the deck, and we can also see them, and the hummingbirds who sip from them, easily from our perch up there.

The woods are bursting with life as well, and we found this lovely in early May. . .in a very obvious place that we failed to notice last year. Once you see one trillium, you start to see them everywhere. Alas, they are short lived here. A week at most, and then we just see the leaves and sigh; realizing that the leaves are busy making next years strong roots and shipping around carbohydrates for next years flowers.

Asparagus, early May

 

 

Speaking of food, it wouldn't do to forget to mention the asparagus. We took 2 medium sized cuttings, and are letting the rest get established for future years. It is the perennial growers job; to ensure the fruits of today as well as the fruits of future years.

 

Copper Beech

 

 

 

And of course no spring is complete without an image of our beloved Copper Beech. She was, as always, spectacular.

The studio is, for the time being, neglected. There is so much to enjoy in the yard. I did make some buttons for a sweater I just knit, and I really do love both. It should be just the thing for cool Maine nights.

Summer sweater with enameled buttons

Digression

The first and only book I ever wrote (The Berry Grower's Companion, 2000) was full of something I called "digressions". This was a term that I stole from the Knitting great, Elizabeth Zimmerman. I really liked the idea of pausing and giving some background. Taking a breath. In the spring, that's really important, though our collective breaths have been held by rainy weather for the past couple of days. Anyway, my editor was not delighted with the idea, but eventually gave in.

The second Chickadee house is almost done. I'm going to make a false bottom for it so that cleaning it will be easy. Once again, I'm not crazy about the glaze, but I do like the form (and embellishments) quite a bit.

The glaze is Klaus Hard White fired to cone 5. It used to fire to a matte finish. For some reason, it's been firing glossy these days. Not my favorite look. I think I need to make a new collection of samples and find out what's going on.

Also, via my class at the community center, I've been working on throwing open forms for altering. I should say open cylinders, since that's the only thing the wheel gives you. Once again, I'm mildly to very happy with the forms, but not so much the glazes. Ack. 

The two green forms were originally fired with only a clear glaze over the underglaze and clay body. I'm really not impressed with the clay body (Laguna #76). . it fires much grayer than the white stoneware I've been using. More learning. Yay. 

Anyway, I so disliked the clear-over-#76 that I re-glazed and re-fired using a transparent green (Laguna MS7, Forest). Still not happy with it, so both pieces are in the re-glaze pile until something amazing occurs to me.

The last 3 pieces are either greenware or bisqued. You can see the forms, and I am waiting for enlightenment before I go back to the glaze booth with them. I did use some of the community studio's underglazes prior to the bisque firing. Nice to know that works so well, and I think you can use less of the underglaze to get a good color. I won't really know until the final firing, though.

This little square bowl is a favorite. One of the things I didn't count on was the way that a thrown altered pot retains some of the rounded edges from it's history as a cylinder. I think that's kind of cool. I'm thinking a VERY simple glaze for this little guy. . .maybe satin black on the outside, and olive green underglaze with a clear overglaze on the inside. 

Finally, these two little oval vessels were the first thrown and altered pieces I made in the community studio.

I like the forms a lot, and the leaf-berry appliques will look less cute when they interact with some glaze. Please. Less cute. 

Like hand building, the thrown/altered pieces take a lot more time to make than pieces that are simply thrown. What you're buying is the very even walls, and I think it's easier to make the walls thinner on the wheel, than to roll them out and construct them. It depends on the clay body, of course. And it's always tough to get them to just the right hardness before alterations.

So. I think that's the end of the community studio experiment. I am so spoiled by both my own studio, and the amazing community studios in which I worked in both Boise and Melbourne. And then there's my aging back. Another lesson for me. I really really do need to work on a standing wheel. Let's hope I can continue to do that for a while. . .

The Energy Explosion

 

Ferns begin in Winslow, Maine

And so it begins. This picture is one John took while fishing in a friend's stream. We have ferns likewise Beginning, and the expansion of leaves everywhere has also started. I've always been amazed at the enormity of energy exerted by our natural systems in the spring. I expect someone has measured it. . .or made a rough estimation, but it has to be enormous.

Sun in peeking through today, and the Pleasant Garden Tasks await!

The First Chickadee house in situ.

Spring Weather, Maine style

Jasper and I were finally able to hike French Mountain today, after a couple of months when the trails on it were ice flows. They are melted and clear, and surprisingly un-muddy. John, and some Mainers, talk about a mud season here, but we haven't seen it in the two springs since we've been here. More like Mud week.

So to the left is the first view of Long Pond from the trail. I love that this trail sort of runs around the top edge of the mountain (which is really a big hill by Western standards), so you get a continuous and changing view of the lake for quite some time. I was reminded today that one of things I most love about Maine is that these wonderful trails, cared for by volunteers like John and I, are often uncrowded. Today I was the only person parked in the lot. That combination of solitude and community coming together is worth so much. Even worth the long and icy winters. At least so far.

Jasper is at his best on these hikes. While he sort of loafs around the house most of the day, and is reluctant to follow me around the yard (which is what all of our past dogs did), he seems to have endless energy on a not-too-hot not-too-icy/snowy day. Yep. He's a little finicky about his weather too. I think it's the been-there-done-that of a ranch dog. He has definitely evolved into an "indoor dog" in his dotage.

Though I think he could go at that dog trot all day. This hike is shorter than I'd like on a beautiful day like today, so I need to remember to bring tea and biscuits the next time. Odd how I never think to take the time for that, even now that I can.

Lest I wax too starry eyed about life here in Central Maine, I'll include a couple of photos from 8 days ago. (!) This is our back yard. Not only is there still snow on the ground, but check out that grass. It's been under a foot or more of snow for a few months, and yes. It looks a lot worse for wear. I was sort of stunned by this last year, thinking we were going to have to re-seed the entire half acre. But it did, and will recover. In fact, even today it looks decent, and in two weeks, it will look like our normal "lawn", which is always a mixed bag of species. The snow is also a mixed bag. While it stresses the grass by covering it for so long, it also protects it, and other low plants, from the coldest temperatures.

The only plant that was seriously thriving 8 days ago was this creeping thyme, which I planted between stepping stones last year. It was sort of limping along last year, but was full on early this spring. I'm hoping that other freshly planted perennials (including my raspberries!) will do the same. I'm hoping that last year they were focused on root production, and this year they'll start to put some energy into shoots. And of course, flowers and berries. Eat. Survive. Reproduce. Yay.