Category Archives: Weather

Football Weather

Posted on September 15, 2013 by AnnieRie

Clear, sunny, perfect day for the Ravens to open in Baltimore. Good to see that they won.

We did lots of things outdoors today before and after the game. Some wire maintenance for my husband.

Me, checking out the lone squash in the garden, and bringing in almost all the remaining tomatoes. This year, they seem to be slowing down a bit early.

I only have about eight green tomatoes left on the vine.

The freezer is almost full. Today, between games, I cut up the habaneros and the jalapenos for the jelly. Found all the material to do the canning. Tomorrow will be canning day. I have to decide how hot I want this jelly to be. I got about 10 habaneros from the CSA. The recipe calls for 6-15 depending on what level of heat you want.

I also roasted the remaining paste tomatoes and put them away in the freezer. Took all the pesto out of the ice cube trays and divided the cubes up into small containers to keep.

Roasted three more heads of garlic, resulting in a full jar of soft tasty garlic to use in recipes.

Tomorrow there may be showers. That will be good as we are crossing our fingers that there will be no restrictions for the Equinox Twilight Hikes at the Conservancy, next Sunday night, the 22nd.

They should be fun, if the weather stays this lovely. Family hiking ending at the campfire for stories and s’mores. Followed at twilight by the adult hike.

It’s a “bring your own” hike. Musical instruments to play. A few snacks to supplement the s’mores for the adult crowd.

Check out the details on the Conservancy web page. If you want to enjoy the changing of the seasons.

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Posted in Food, Gardening, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering, Weather, West HoCo and tagged community, Food, foodie, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, tomatoes, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

A Picture Perfect Fall Day

Posted on September 14, 2013 by AnnieRie

That’s what about 70-80 people decided who came out to the Conservancy to join our family hikes.

We had four hike leaders and each one of us had 15-35 people. The largest group was with our preschool leader. She had at least 35 people on the short tour around the farmhouse and down to the play areas.

I took about 15-20 people on a couple of loops to show them all the cool things we teach the children on the field trips. Almost 90 minutes out there.

Then, we found dozens of families down in the nature center checking out Maize, our corn snake, or reading books, or looking at all the exhibits. Into the midst of the chaos, a family showed up to tour the facilities for a possible wedding in 2014. I got to take them for a tour and show them the grounds, as Alison was out and about with all the visitors and handling the snake. We didn’t think the mother of the bride was into snakes.

I finally left there at 1:00. Too late to hit Breezy Willow or Larriland so I ran over to Harris Teeter to get pectin, pineapple juice, sugar and a few boxes of cereal for my better half. I missed my chance to pick up my favorite yogurt at Breezy Willow so it will have to wait until next week.

Turf Valley is coming along quickly. The outdoor seating at Facci is there. Looks like they are very close to opening, and you could smell wood smoke (maybe the pizza ovens?) and someone in a chef’s cap was out in back, taking a break, talking on his phone. They look to be the first to open.

Petite Cellars and Grille 620 are hiring, if anyone is looking for a job.

Mimi’s was being worked too. The cleaners have opened.

We may finally have another fully occupied shopping center in northwest HocCo, with new restaurants. Woo Hoo!

Tomorrow is pineapple habanero jelly making day. Stand by for the report on how well it goes. If I don’t seriously hurt myself handling the habaneros I will have 6 jars of jelly to use for appetizers, glazing, and I think, to make some killer chicken wings.

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Posted in Community, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Nature, Volunteering, Weather, West HoCo and tagged community, Food, hoco loco, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, Locavore, nature, volunteering, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Update on the Farms

Posted on September 13, 2013 by AnnieRie

Just in case you want to get out and stock up for winter, there were a few emails lately with what is happening at local farms.

England Acres announced a new batch of fresh chickens for this weekend. The market is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10-6. If you have never made fresh chicken, using these lovely birds, you are in for a real treat if you head out and buy one or two of them. They can’t keep them in stock for long. They just fly out of the refrigerator at the farm store.

As for other goodies available, Breezy Willow still has their 25 pounds of tomatoes for $25 special. If you are inclined to make tomato sauce to freeze, this is the way to get good organic tomatoes for a great price. The farm store is open tomorrow from 10-2. I may be stopping there to pick up some yogurt and cheese, as they have some of my favorite vendors in their store.

Last, Larriland.

All sorts of specials, like tomatoes in the field by the barn. Otherwise, here is the latest chart.

Opening Saturday, September 14, 2013
1. Jonagold apples: picking is good. Jonagolds are sweet/tart, large, greenish with a red cheek, all purpose apples. Jonagolds are a cross between Jonathan, a tart apple, and Golden Delicious, a sweet apple.

2. Spinach and Swiss chard. picking is excellent. This year we planted “Rhubarb Chard” which has red stems and looks just like beets but no bottoms.

3. Tomatoes: this is a new tomato field with garden tomatoes, roma/paste tomatoes, grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.

4. Blackberries: picking will be fair. The blackberry season is almost over.

Ripening Soon:
1. Apples: there are 14 more apple varieties to ripen throughout September and October. Click on the Fruit Harvest Calender below for varieties and ripening times.

2. Broccoli will be ready in late September.

3. Beets will be ready to pick in October.

4. Pumpkins will be ready to pick in October.

5. Cauliflower and cabbage will be ready to pick in late October.

I love heading out to Larriland. I may be stopping there tomorrow also, as I need pectin and apple cider to make my habanero jelly. More on that later.

Fall is coming, that’s for sure. Today was just a lovely day. Cooler, breezy, sunny after the rain headed out. Can’t wait for pumpkin season.

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Posted in Farms, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Weather, West HoCo and tagged cooking, farms, Food, foodie, local businesses, Locavore, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Picking Fruits and Veggies

Posted on September 6, 2013 by AnnieRie

The end of the peach season is upon us. Soon, the rest of the 15 varieties of apples will be ripening at Larriland. We need to get back out there and pick some white peaches for the freezer. You can’t beat a day with this view.

I have also never picked grapes out there. Or, quite a few other veggies. This lovely weather makes me want to hit the farm and get a few more good items to put away.

The web site also tells us that the tomatoes will be good through October. I may go there and get a large quantity of romas, just to finish the sauce processing.

This year, my romas and paste were way down from previous years. Even with more plants. I know it is time to move the garden out to the field even if it means twice the length of hose to irrigate it. We are now down to seven hours of sun a day, maximum, on the current garden site.

I do have quite a harvest of heirlooms still ripening. Most get picked before I get stink bug or something chewing on them. I think it’s the squirrels. I need to get a dog. Seriously.

Not only are the squirrels getting into my plants, they are chewing on the cedar siding around our doors.

All in all, though, I did get, and I am still getting quite a haul of heirlooms. Finally, pineapple tomatoes, hillbilly tomatoes, and Amana orange, all producing fruit almost every day. Another full windowsill.

I do love this mild, low humidity weather that we are experiencing. I could get used to working outside without that heat and humidity.

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Posted in Farms, Food, Gardening, Howard County, Local Businesses, Weather, West HoCo and tagged cooking, farms, Food, foodie, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, tomatoes, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Back to School …

Posted on September 4, 2013 by AnnieRie

… for volunteer training.

Next Tuesday is the beginning of the naturalist training, for those of us interested in leading field trip hikes at the Howard County Conservancy.

I call it back to school, as I learn something new every time I attend the training sessions.

Fall programs for elementary and middle school children, as well as the opportunity to volunteer to chaperon service learning for middle and high school students, will be on our plate for the dozens of volunteers who attend part of or all the training sessions.

On Tuesdays, the middle school programs are discussed. The 10th, the topic will be Erosion in the STEM cycle. On the 17th, they are going to be offering more information about current and “pilot” programs for the middle schools.

On Thursdays, starting the 12th, we will be covering elementary school programs. 1st and 2nd grade on the 10th. third grade on the 17th, and 4th grade on the 26th. The 26th concludes with our traditional pot luck luncheon attended by almost all of the volunteers. Even those who don’t make it to the refresher training will come to visit and get ready for the October kick off of field trips and hikes.

I volunteer for at least five or six hikes. The requested commitment is for three hikes. You can even shadow the experienced volunteers before trying to lead a small group of students yourself.

The really fun part of this volunteer effort is the freedom we have to present material in a way that is comfortable for us. The goal is primarily to get the children engaged in the outdoors, using the earth science curriculum as the base,but allowing us to showcase nature. I tend to add a little math to the mix, to get the students more comfortable with measurements, or amounts, maybe some area or volume examples.

For example, how big is an acre? We tell the students about the size of the property but concepts new to the youngest students are best described using examples they can relate to. Like how many football fields they would have to mow to take care of 240 acres, the size of the farm.

Or how hard it was to build the barn, with no power tools. How big are those beams? How heavy do they think they are?

The first graders learn about rocks. Why are rocks good for a foundation? How hard is it to build a wall of rocks? How bad are rocks in your field? What kind of rocks are around here?

In the fall, we use the grasslands. In the spring, the woodlands. I like being in the grasslands, watching the leaves change. Looking for walnuts, beechnuts, acorns. Explaining how the animals prepare for winter. Opening milkweed cones to show them the seeds. Talking about the butterflies. So much to see and do and the children really get into it.

Honestly. Can you think of a better place to spend a crisp fall morning?

Can’t wait for our morning sessions and our refresher hikes to begin.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Farms, Howard County, Nature, Volunteering, Weather and tagged farms, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Fall Sneaking Up on Us

Posted on September 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

Signs that we are heading towards that change of season.

My first Thelma Sanders squash, hidden under the leaves in a corner of the garden.

Berries on the crab apples. A bumper crop of berries. Here’s hoping we get the cedar waxwings who love to feast on the berries.

Rhododendron buds are really plentiful this year as well. Last year there was lots of growth but not that many blooms. This year, all the rain was good to them and they put out huge amounts of buds, which means lots of flowers next May.

Morning glories completely out of control. I didn’t prune them back this year. A friend who grows grapes told us in rainy seasons to let the flowers and weeds get close to your garden. In the case of a very wet summer, their competition for the moisture will be beneficial to keeping your veggies and fruit from diseases caused by too much water.

A basil plant that decided to rise from the ruins of the bunny devastation of last spring. I have no idea how it came back from its puny little nub left after the rabbits got to it.

Newly mowed meadow. Ready to be baled. Driving my sinuses nuts, but it really looks forlorn, where once there was all this tall lovely grass.

Lots of green tomatoes still out there, hiding and in plain sight. I figure we have about four or five more weeks before the weather changes for good, and I have to bring them in if they don’t ripen. Right now I am still getting lots of slicing tomatoes, but all the paste tomatoes are about finished for the year.

Weather is lovely, isn’t it? Temps in the low eighties and high seventies. Cool nights.

The blue basil is going to seed. Time to do the last big harvest and make another boatload of pesto.

Enjoy this weather while we can!

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Food, Gardening, Hobbies, Howard County, Nature, Weather, West HoCo and tagged Food, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, hobbies, Howard County, tomatoes, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Garden Update

Posted on August 30, 2013 by AnnieRie

The garden is hanging in there but the stink bugs are out in force, so I have resorted to picking the tomatoes just before they get ripe and sweet. Cuts down on the damage.

The one on the top left is an Amana orange heirloom. It will turn orange on the windowsill. The other larger heirloom is a mortgage lifter. This year they are not getting huge. The weather hasn’t been hot enough. A couple of orange romas, one Polish linguisa, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and one lonely sun sugar.

The supersweet 100s are done. I have yet to get a ripe pineapple tomato, even though right now there are dozens of green ones on the vines. Got what looks to be the last Paul Robeson yesterday. The hillbillies and the boxcar willie plants also have dozens of green tomatoes on them. Hope we continue to have nice days, in order to ripen them.

I am glad I put in 48 plants, as many of them are underachieving this year.

I have gotten my share of weird plants too. Like this one.

I could have put it in the fair for strange looking plants.

The CSA has also given us some winners. Like this eggplant with a “nose”.

Garden and CSA veggies played well tonight for dinner, where I made my ratatouille pie. Using Breezy Willow bacon and feta, England Acres eggs, Trickling Springs milk, and a combination of CSA squash, eggplant and onion, and my tomatoes for the ratatouille base. I really love this pie. Like a quiche.

I used store bought pie crust this time. Being lazy. Bake the pie crust until almost done. I used two crusts for this. One on the base, and one hand torn and placed around the top of the deep dish.

Mix two cups of ratatouille with 1/4 cup grated cheese and about 6 strips of crisp bacon, torn into pieces. Dump on top the crust. Mix together four large eggs with 2 tablespoons of milk and 2 tablespoons of flour. Dump on top the ratatouille. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Great with a Cabernet. Enough left for lunch this weekend.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Food, Gardening, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Weather and tagged CSA, Food, foodie, gardening, heirloom tomatoes, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food, tomatoes, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Lucky 13, Week of the CSA

Posted on August 15, 2013 by AnnieRie

We scored a huge watermelon this week.

With nine other items.
1 bag Green Beans – Freedom Acres
1 bunch Dill – Kirkwood Herbs (I swapped for jalapenos)
1 bag San Marzano Roma Tomatoes – Maple Lawn Organics
6 ears Sweet Corn – Pine Hill Organics
1 bag Thumbalina Carrots – Farmdale Organics
1 bag Shallots – Shady Brook Organics
1 Red Seedless Watermelon – Misty Meadows
1 bag Yukon Gold Potatoes – Hillside Organics
1 pint Mixed Cherry Tomatoes – Farmdale Organics
1 bag Red Slicing Tomatoes – White Swan Acres

The whole picture here:

This week, just to show the difference, one of the 60% share members let me photograph their veggies before they divided them up. Two single friends share a 60% box. Besides getting a bit less than the full share, their amounts are smaller.

For a single vegetarian, or a couple, this is a perfect size for a CSA share. At less than $20 a week, most weeks they get 6-8 items. The baby eggplants were really cute. They get much more conventional veggies than the full share.

Right now, our pick up site is pretty full. A transferring member (from Silver Spring) was new this week. We had a nice visit and recipe swap between many of us today, as with perfect weather, we were out enjoying the sun without humidity.

As for value, I haven’t done a comparison lately, but today it was a really good easy one to do. Using prices for organic.

Corn $3 a half dozen
Cherry tomatoes $4
Slicing tomatoes @$3 a pound = $5
Watermelon $5
Green Beans $3
Heirloom Romas $4
Thumbelina Carrots $3
Shallots $2
Jalapenos $3
Potatoes, 4 pounds, $6

Total: $38 — Weekly Fee: $31

Some weeks it is even higher than this. Some weeks we get 12 or 13 items.

The CSA is such a bargain if you normally shop at organic stores, or farm stands.

Tonight for dinner, some of it made it onto our plates already. Like the corn.

Thanks to all the CSAs in the area, and the markets, fresh food is not far away.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Locavore, Weather and tagged CSA, heirloom tomatoes, Locavore, tomatoes, value of CSA, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

A Picture Perfect Day …

Posted on August 14, 2013 by AnnieRie

… for picking peaches. Oh, and Blackberries, too. At Larriland.

I dropped my husband off at his monthly Glenwood DX Association radio group’s luncheon at Town Grill in Lisbon, then headed off to pick blackberries.

An hour or so later, and five pounds of berries in the back of the car, I picked him up so he could help me pick peaches. Twenty seven pounds of peaches in less than 20 minutes.

Gorgeous peaches at $1.25 a pound if you pick more than 20 pounds. Tomorrow will be peach blanching, freezing and blending day.

The weather was perfect. There were lots of people at the peach picking sites, but I had most of the blackberry bush area to myself. My own row, as a matter of fact.

After a stop back at the red barn to get some canning supplies, an eggplant and a couple of red peppers to top off the ajvar, and home to process berries.

The best berries go into the freezer whole, are flash frozen, then packed in small bags. I got eight bags with about a cup of berries in each one. The ones on the top left are the less than perfect. I will drop them into boiling water briefly using a strainer, then put them in the blender with a little honey and just a touch of balsamic. They will be strained into syrup then put in an ice cube tray to freeze. The basis for vinaigrettes all winter. The top right are the “Eat Now” berries. For cereal. Yogurt. Salads. Snacks. They will be gone in two or three days probably, they are so good.

As for a few of the ripest peaches, they became part of dinner tonight.

Right on the grill with lemon olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Served with some Breezy Willow kielbasa, a local wine from Big Cork, and some pesto pasta salad.

Head on out to Larriland. The peaches and blackberries are down the road from the farm entrance (stay on Rte. 94 south) and a right turn into the picking areas.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Gardening, Hobbies, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Weather, West HoCo, Wine and tagged cooking, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, gardening, grilling, hobbies, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food, weather, West HoCo, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Day Trippin’ Again

Posted on August 4, 2013 by AnnieRie

Almost a ritual now. Hamfest followed by winery. Today in Clarke County.

Berryville VA. One of our favorite “hamfests” to attend. Small town. Ruritan BBQ. Lots of radio tailgaters, selling everything and anything.

We pair the visits. He gets to wander around the antique equipment aisles and I get to visit a winery later, for lunch.

Today it was Doukenie, a new one for me.

After all, you can’t beat the view. Doukenie is just east of Charles Town WV and south of Lovettsville, across the Potomac from Brunswick.

We did a tasting, bought some sopressatta, smoked cheddar, a baguette and a couple of glasses of red wine, and watched the geese on the pond.

Took home a few bottles of their sauvignon blanc, which is nice, and some riesling and chardonnay. They have nice clean wines, and a beautiful site for picnics.

Yes, it was 75 degrees, no humidity, perfect weather. Are you sure it is still summer?

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Posted in Day Trips, Food, Hobbies, Sixty@Sixty, Weather, Wine and tagged amateur radio, day trips, Food, foodie, hobbies, VA wine, weather, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

AnnieRie Unplugged

Category Archives: Weather

Football Weather

A Picture Perfect Fall Day

Update on the Farms

Picking Fruits and Veggies

Back to School …

Fall Sneaking Up on Us

Garden Update

Lucky 13, Week of the CSA

A Picture Perfect Day …

Day Trippin’ Again

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