So-so Garden

I had the first asparagus of the season from the garden today; steamed, then topped with a little (real) butter and salt. Very good.

The crocuses are one of the first signs of Spring where I live. There aren’t many planted here but the few we have are showing nicely now. The above picture was taken today. I particularly like the striking purple veins in the nearly white pedals.

Thinking about today being the solstice led to a little reading on the subject. I found this discussion of the seasons as they relate to the astronomical solstice and equinox events to be interesting.

The Straight Dope: Is it true summer in Ireland starts May 1?

I prefer to think of the seasons (from my Northern perspective) as related to the calendar in the simple form: December, January, and February are Winter; March, April, and May are Spring; June, July, and August are Summer; and September, October, and November are Fall (or, if you prefer, Autumn). This seems to follow the temperature and weather changes fairly well and places the associated astronomical events of solstice and equinox not at the beginning, or at the exact midpoint, but closer to the beginning of each season. This works well given the lag in Earth’s warming and cooling in response to the seasonal changes in solar exposure.

A couple notes on Butternut squash:

1. Next time try baking it.

2. Next year plant it earlier (as in, on time).

My friend Keith told me that the Giant Atlantic squash that is grown for show, and produces those monstrous “giant pumpkins” you see at the fairs, is also good to eat when they’re small.  I want to try that next year.

Dills Giant Atlantic

I put the electric fence up around the sweet corn today. Back’s a bit sore from driving T-posts into dry ground. Good to have it done though. Ears are starting to form and the raccoons would be tearing into it any day now. And for those who have only seen electric fences on TV, I want to let you know that this is not the kind of electric fence that fries critters to a crisp. It shocks them enough to make them run away and find something else to eat. At least that’s how it’s supposed to work.

Hello, Springtime!

Hello, new blog.