I love fresh peas. Love when we get them in the CSA box. I shelled all of them, including the ones from the Howard County Farmer’s Market. Shelling peas. One of those “lost” chores.

Butler’s Orchard in Germantown has sugar snap peas and English peas in their pick-your-own fields. I am considering picking peas this week (like I really have the time with Field Day coming), before they are gone. Peas are one of those vegetables that does incredibly well when frozen. Pick them, shell them, blanch them and vacuum seal them. They retain their sweetness when picked, shelled and frozen the same day.

Larriland had cherries last weekend, but their web site says wait a few days to allow more to ripen. The other favorite summer fruit for my husband are cherries. This week they are saying strawberries for at least another week, and the beginning of red raspberry season. For those inclined to get strawberries, this is your last chance.

I need to find a few items to make for our field day luncheons. I usually do tzatziki, but the cucumbers aren’t cooperating. Last year my cukes looked like this on the 12th of June. This year, nothing but blossoms.

Have to see what we get in the CSA box on Thursday.

I also hear blueberries are coming soon to Larriland and Butler’s. Last year on 12 June we were picking.

And, this announcement on the Larriland page. “Ripening soon will be pick your own black raspberries, blueberries, purple raspberries and beets.”

Hmmm, pickled beets anyone?

hocofood@@@

Like radio static. You want radio static? Come to our house. Between the scanner and my husband’s radios, I get to hear all sorts of static.

One of his old receivers, that he will still mess around with occasionally. As for the scanner, it is how we know what is happening, even more current than twitter or facebook, the scanner frequencies for fire and police, and the local Columbia repeater for 2 meters yield us instant info about fires, accidents, and just general stuff. The repeaters are manned by amateurs doing Skywarn during storms like we had Thursday.

Children playing. Out here we always hear our neighbor’s little ones outside, laughing and running around, or riding their bikes. There are always wiffle balls or tennis balls in our field. Errant tosses while they are enjoying the sunny days.

We left behind the sirens and helicopters of Columbia, and gained tractors, birds, roosters and SILENCE. Sometimes here it is the silence that amazes us the most. Dark, quiet evenings.

Full moon. Some evenings I would wait outside looking at the stars and hearing nothing, waiting for my husband to get home from a meeting. Looking for the deer. Or watching a satellite in the sky. No sounds. Just complete silence, and a car every three or four minutes.

Who knew what noise squirrels make? We have learned. Between the squirrels, the rabbits and the birds, I have been serenaded while having morning coffee on the patio. Of course, my all time favorite is the hawk.

He likes to make his presence known. He and my other neighbor’s rooster. I don’t have a picture of him but you heard him all day, thankfully somewhat muted as they were about a 1/4 mile away. They have moved on, so the rooster sound has disappeared.

Last, the tractors. Not lawn mowers. Real hay baling equipment or massive tractors with drag behind cutters. These kinds of tractors. Across the street. Next door. A few times every year. Cutting hay.

I have traded city sounds for country sounds. A slower pace. Sounds of people cutting fire wood. Muzzle loaders during deer season. Fireworks (yes, we know they aren’t supposed to have them, but believe me, there are some serious fireworks out here on New Year’s Eve and 4th of July).

I can hear the cows mooing on some mornings, from the farms across the “hollow”.

I don’t miss all the traffic noise, the Medevac helicopters heading over the house many nights every week, the police helicopters occasionally. Sounds of the city.

I am much happier and less stressed even when the pileated woodpeckers get noisy.

There are ten towers. The basement has enough room, and power, to handle all the major frequency bands and modes simultaneously. This is a major radio contest site, owned by a fellow amateur radio operator in the same local club as my husband.

A local catering company specializing in pit beef, pulled pork and turkey sandwiches sets up shop. The club donates water, soda, iced tea, and beer. “Hams” from all over the country (and overseas) come every year. This year the guest book had 105 entries. Some were couples and some, like us, forgot to sign. So, probably 125-150 people there. The caterer sold over 100 sandwiches and platters.

Members of Potomac Valley Radio Club, Columbia Amateur Radio Club, National Capitol DX Association and who knows how many other clubs, all came together to eat, drink, socialize and take a tour of the towers and station.

Now that we are retired, and my husband attends many functions, dinners, luncheons, contests, meetings, field day, whatever, we know quite a few people. I talked to dozens of spouses and some of the operators from field day.

Field Day is next weekend. Planning going like crazy. I will be cooking again for the 80-100 operators and support staff that make this contest one of the largest supported efforts in the USA. This year the club is trying to be rated 28Alpha. That means 28 simultaneous transmitting stations all operating on generator power.

Field Day is an annual event that allows radio amateurs to train and operate using methods that might be needed during disasters. Disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Cell towers get overloaded, or come down.

The local clubs can put up crank up towers and relay info to Emergency Operations Centers, or help with non-emergency communications between support efforts at disasters. Keeping the emergency communication channels uncluttered.

Columbia Amateur Radio Association supports Howard County’s EOC. They get reports from hams, on the road and at home, during and after events like the derecho last year, and the hurricanes.

This year, again, Howard County is sending one of their really cool emergency vehicles out for people to tour during our Field Day Weekend. When the club puts up ten crank up towers in the fields, and operates.

If you want to see something really fascinating, head out to Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School next Saturday or Sunday, the 22nd and 23rd. You can even have your little ones operate the radios on our Get On The Air (GOTA) station. They could talk to someone in Alaska or Hawaii.

All in all, today was a fun reunion. The kick off to our summer season of radio contests and our social events. Can’t wait for the fowl fest, the crab feast and the other picnics. Oh, and nothing like a day with towers and tractors.

73 de AnnieRieXYL

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Yesterday, we had storms, wind, sun, fire, and life just is interesting here in the western part of the county. We did agonize a bit about whether to take the tower down, in anticipation of the storms.

Without five people, this wasn’t happening, so we just decided to ride it out. In the morning, the major storms passed us by to the north. We could see them coming but they were just above us. A good thing, so far. Then, we heard massive amounts of sirens just as I was going out for gas and ice. I figured if I bought ice, nothing would happen.

Turns out there was a grease fire at Ten Oaks Tavern. All sorts of fire trucks everywhere at the Glenelg/Dayton circle. I picked up what I needed and came home to find a tornado warning. OK, this is way too much excitement for one day. This time, the severe weather passed ten miles south of us, below Olney.

We never lost power, had about an inch of rain, no real wind or damage. Compared to last year, this year’s derecho was a no show. Well, at least the flowers are loving all the rain.

I have to admit, living out here in the rural districts has its advantages and disadvantages. Still, that “lure of the land”, the reason we moved here, still makes it all worth while, to fill the tubs with water, bring in the furniture, get ready to possibly bail out the sump pump when the power goes off, and all those other little things to weather the storms.

And, my tomatoes are loving the weather. Should have tomatoes in a few weeks. Cucumbers, too.

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My weekly email arrived early this morning telling me what we were getting. Thankfully it was not raining at the time I went to Columbia to pick up my share.

Today your Full Share contains:

1 Bag English Peas- Chiques Roc Organics
1 Bunch Collards- Freedom Acres Farm
1 Bunch Garlic Scapes- Lancaster Farmacy
1 Bunch Cilantro- Noble Herbs
1 Bunch Chioggia Beets- Plum Hill Organics
1 Bunch Purple Kohlrabi- Rolling Ridge Organics
1 Bunch Red Kale- Maple Lawn Organics (OK, I swapped the kale for more scapes)
1 Head Red Romaine Lettuce- Chemical Free- Kings Produce
1 Bunch Asparagus- Coyote Run Organics
1 Head White Cauliflower- Sunny Slope Organics
1 Bunch Green Tatsoi- Red Fox Organics
1 Head Broccoli- Farmdale OR Organic Willow Acres

As you can see above, I was tired of kale at the moment and wanted more scapes to finish making pesto to freeze for next winter. This time I will be trying a new recipe. Scapes, cilantro and pistachios. More on that later this week.

Besides, I need pesto to take to the amateur radio field day next weekend. More on that later, too.

And, later tonight I might get the fire and storm post up. Can’t say it is boring here.

This week, though, I was thrilled with our CSA box. I have already used some broccoli, cauliflower and the red romaine for tonight’s salad.

My husband really loves getting those veggies that are perfect in salads. And, we are really thrilled to see the beets, the kohlrabi and the English peas. Oh, and asparagus for the third time. We can never have too much asparagus.

Plans? Kohlrabi and apple slaw. Roasted beets for salad. The pesto. Steamed peas with fresh mint from the garden.

The herbs are getting quite robust, with all this rain.

I also have ideas for things to do with the beet greens and the kohlrabi greens. There may be a frittata this weekend.

hocofood@@@

I think I found a monarch larvae here. The milkweed is flourishing. Other butterflies love it.

Like this great spangled fritillary. And, of course, the bees.

Looks like a bumble bee.

All in all, a good day in the meadow.

Now, to save that monarch from the predatory birds.

All that rain. Today it dried up enough in most of the front yard to cut it.

Except we still can’t go down into the hollow below the guardrail, where it is still soggy.

We went off to Pennsylvania today. Our annual “Check Out the Cemetery” trip. To see if any maintenance needs to be done on my in laws’ graves. It was still raining up there, and I still get slightly weirded out by those “windmills”.

A few years ago, they appeared on the hillside behind the cemetery. Including the one just the other side of the fence from my inlaws’ gravesites.

We did have to make a side trip to get authentic kielbo from the local vendor.

Interesting, though, it ended up not as garlicky as my husband remembered it. Still, it was the basis for dinner tonight.

We took the back way home to stop at Peters.

Some strawberries, English peas, high tunnel cherry tomatoes. There weren’t any shoo fly pies, unfortunately.

Then, home to cut the grass, and cherish that sunshine to eat out back while enjoying the view.

Hope the weather stays nice.

Precipitation
Today: 1.70in
Hi Rain Rate: 0.209in/hr at 8:18pm
Current Hour: 0.38in
Last 24 Hours: 1.70in
This Month: 4.86in
Year-to-Date: 19.45in
Official MTD Rainfall @ BWI: 3.11in
Official YTD Rainfall @ BWI: 16.97in

Yep, almost twenty inches of rain this year out here. Real rain.

Oh, and those really cool underground drains. They work quite well.

Pulling the rain away from the foundation and watering my trees out front. Here is the construction picture.

I wonder if this qualifies for a credit from the county for stormwater management. After all, I need to get something back for the $165 I will be paying to the county. For all that water that never leaves my property, and all the water that ends up in my front yard from the county road. Maybe I should tax them? It will probably be July before it is safe to take the tractor down into the depressed area in our southwest corner. Where all the run off from the road and our shared driveways ends up.

Interesting times ahead in Howard County. I have the lowest fee in my area, since my neighbor owns the shared driveway. I don’t mind saving the Bay, but paying so others will fix their problems sort of rubs me the wrong way.

Yes, my fee of $165 is by far the lowest of all my neighbors. The worst. $1230, for a neighbor who bought 20 acres behind another farm. Want to know what your fee is?

Click here.

hocoblogs@@@

Manassas Hamfest followed by lunch at a winery. The past three or four years we have done this. This year we headed off to Breaux after a morning at the show. The Manassas “ham” fest aka amateur radio flea market always makes me smile.

After all, this is the place to get those replacement RCA electron tubes you need.

We then headed out to Breaux for a cellar club “pick up party”, where we get to see the new banquet hall and taste the cellar releases paired with food. Love the view from the new building.

The older tasting rooms were at the bottom of the hill without this great view of the vineyards. They had live music today, and many people having lunch out listening to the music.

The back half of the tented area is reserved for cellar club members. You can see in the picture above the haze over the mountains. Next week is Cajun fest out at the vineyards. With zydeco music, and even more space to spread out, the winery is gearing up for summer.

We brought our wines home, finished the grass cutting before it rains again, and had shrimp curry for dinner. That curry from Thai Spices, the new vendor at the Howard County markets. The matsamon curry.

One of the “milder” curries they sell, this blend is packed with flavor. Yesterday we picked up a pound of steamed shrimp at Boarman’s. I peeled it and plopped it in the curry just before it was ready to serve. A little naan. A side salad. A riesling.

Great Sunday dinner.

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We grilled. I didn’t take pictures. I was too lazy. But, I did use these.

I sent my husband down to Boarman’s to pick up a few crabcakes. He came back with much more. Like some shrimp to use with the curry tomorrow, and some box wine. I love having one stop shopping there. Pick up dinner. Match it with wine. Black Box Pinot Grigio.

I grilled the mushrooms stuffed with the crabcakes. Grilled some asparagus. Made a potato salad this morning using the TLV potatoes.

Sat out on the patio. Enjoyed the mid seventies temps. Have all the windows open, and I am loving the springtime. I also transplanted my celosia today. Gardens are doing well with this weather. I could get used to this.

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