Postcards from the Garden

I so wish I could share the heavenly fragrance of this garden with you!

This was the calm before the storm in the side garden . . .
Below: Climbing Abraham Darby (David Austin English rose) In the far background, growing over the gate Climbing Don Juan

If you have roses, or rose covered garden arches, showers of rose petals are inevitable  --unless you're vigilant about dead-heading. (Dead-heading means removing the spent blossoms.)

the weather is usually quite 'changeable' for Memorial Day weekend, and this year was no exception.
Yesterday was a mix of brilliant blue skies, changing to overcast,  some light sprinkles a pattern which repeated throughout the day  . . . then the high winds whipped up in the late afternoon ~ 


David Austin English rose 'climbing 'Eden'. In the background, climbing 'Zephirine Drouhin' (French Bourbon Rose)

which wreaked havoc on the rose arches . . .


Close up, full blown (Eden)

I'm glad I was able to capture a couple of shots of one or two of the rose arches over the path just moments before the wind had its way.
*sigh*
I'm going out now to mend/tieback/clip and do major petal clean-up right now.


I hope you all had a nice long weekend ~ Happy Tuesday!

xo ~mari

Postcard from the Garden

~ A drizzly Spring day in the garden ~
"Carding Mill" English rose bred by David Austin (UK)
(This rose was named after Carding Mill  "an extremely beautiful valley  in the Long Mynd just to the west of the David Austin  nursery in Shropshire", UK.)

POSTCARD from the Garden ~ Gathering.

Our Chickens ~  we feed them, they feed us. :)
Blessings on this beautiful Sunday, friends.
xoxo ~m.


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Greek-Style Rotisserie Lamb and 50% Whole Wheat Pita Sandwiches

Forget the overly-sweet mint sauce ~  
There is something about the Greek way of grilling lamb, marinated in lemon, garlic, salt, pepper and fragrant dried oregano, that makes it irresistible and utterly delicious.
The anticipation (and aroma) while the spit slowly turns is part of the pleasure . . .  knowing that there will be a fine meal to come.  
This time I selected a smallish 4+ pound bone-in leg, minus the shank portion, I like to roast it slowly for maximum juiciness and flavor, so I use the 'indirect method' of roasting the meat on the Weber gas grill. (Front and back burner on medium heat, center burner in the off position.)



To go along, I served lemon-scented orzo with toasted pine nuts, and one of my favorite summer salads ~ Greek, with lots of goodies from the veggie garden; red tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, herbs as well as some marinated locally produced Feta cubes, a mix of Greek olives, and onion, all tossed with a fragrant red wine vinegar & herb vinaigrette.
It is one of my favorite meals, we don't have it often and we really savor it when we do.


HOWEVER . . .
The thing about lamb is that I don't find it anywhere near as appealing when served as leftovers.  Unless, that is,  it's thinly sliced, gently warmed and served in warm pita pocket bread with lots of other flavorful goodies tucked in.
Where I live the freshest pita bread comes from my own oven ~ If you've never made it you might be surprised to learn how fun and easy it is to make your own.  This time I used 50%  00 Italian flour and 50% home-milled whole wheat flour.




You can use a bread machine, stand mixer, or food processor to make the dough, or mix it by hand if you prefer.  (There is a link at the bottom of the page for the pita bread recipe.)
As I mentioned,  I'm not so fond of lamb leftovers, so when making a lamb roast, I always plan on making pita bread too, for the leftovers.  


(See the grapes in the background?  We planted the vines three years ago and this is the first crop!)  Can you tell I'm excited?!  :D  They are so sweet and juicy . . . wish I could share some with you.
When assembling the stuffed pita sandwiches I add lots of other flavorful goodies and just a few thin slices of the warmed lamb.
Slices of red and yellow tomatoes, cucumbers, and baby salad greens from the garden (see below.) Thin slices of sweet purple onion, and a generous spoonful of tzatziki (cucumber & garlic, and sometimes dill, in plain yogurt)  then sprinkled with  ground Sumac* to add a bright finish.  
Incidentally, this is the first year I've grown this particular variety of yellow tomatoes; the name is 'Lemon Boy' ~ I highly recommend!  Medium to medium-large size they are bright yellow, meaty and juicy with few seeds and a nice, mild low-acid flavor.Yum!  You might keep them in mind for next year.

*Sumac?  I love that stuff! It's delicious sprinkled on vegetables eggs, rice & other grains, pizza, chicken, fish and any kind of meat. Just a little sprinkle before serving really adds a nice bright flavor, to almost anything. It's slightly lemony and not spicy at all.

As many of you know our property is located in thickly wooded forest land ~ so most of our vegetables and herbs are raised in raised beds and containers.  
One of the things I like to plant each spring is a large container of baby mixed salad greens, I keep this one on the back deck near the kitchen door.  This one grows well under a huge Douglas Fir tree which the deck was built around.
 You can cut a few leaves from each plant and they will continue to grow, or you cut the entire plant and grow another pot or two, each two weeks apart, for successive harvests. The other advantage of planting these tender lettuces in pots is that you can move them to the shade in the hottest part of the day to prevent them from bolting (going to seed) prematurely.
(My kitty is old and she doesn't climb up to sample the greens, but it you have active pets, you might want to elevate the pots.)


I picked this particular mixed packet of seeds at a local (& ordinary) hardware store/nursery.    This one is offered by Plantation Products (in MA.), it's called "Italian Salad Blend" and contains 6 different Italian lettuces:
AttrazioneBiondaFoglia di Quercia RossaFreckles  :)Meraviglia delle quattro StagioneRossa di Trento
Along with other Italian varieties of greens: Arugula Chicory: Pallo Rossa & Castelfranco Endive: di ruffec & Cornetto di BordeauxSpinach: Riccio d'Asti & Gigante d'InvernoSwiss Chard: Argentata 

You can allow the plant to grow to full mature size, but I prefer to harvest when the leaves are small and tender.  We liked the variety, and I would definitely plant this mix again.



I'll miss you Greek Salad ~ It won't be much longer until we have to say good-bye until next summer.  (By the way, this salad is also fabulous tucked into a pita pocket either plain or with some tzatziki spooned over, and you can add tuna, sliced chicken, sliced hard cooked egg, etc. to add protein.)


If you would like the recipe for the 50% Whole Wheat Pita bread, you'll find it over on the OUaP recipe blog, click here.

Thanks for stopping by friends! I hope you have a very nice weekend.
Until next time!  ~m

~ Wishing you A Blessed Easter ~

Wordless Wednesday ~ Forget Me Nots

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Thank you for stopping by today! ~m.

Progress on the Hen House and Two more chicks...

I promised I would share progress of the chicken house we're building (well actually, Mr. OUaP is doing the building. I just advise & critique).

If you're like me, photos of buildings under construction aren't that interesting, so I'll make this brief. I can't wait for it to be completed, and I'll share it as soon as it finshed.

This area was formerly a playground, with a large rustic wooden swing set, an elevated structure (a fort or a fairytale castle, depending upon the day) accessed by a ladder, and a wonderful slide.

Nearly 20 years old, the play area provided plenty of happy times, but over the years the structure's integrity had become compromised, so it was time to dismantle it.

It's the site for the new hen house.

The structure for the Hen House is 6' x 8', it will have a hardware wire enclosed pen/run of 15' x 16'.

The decomposed granite for the run being delivered, a tight squeeze for the dump truck. (You wouldn't have been able to see this view for the foliage so I took the picture, standing in the tub in the upstairs master bath for a better view.) :D

Framed with roof in place. The chicken's door will be the opening to the left of the ladder.

The human's door side of the building.

The electricity has yet to be wired, insulation, interior walls, and flooring must be installed, then roofing & gutters, siding and trims.

I'll try not to bore you with more pictures of the remainder of the work until it is all complete.

~*~*~*~*~

~ And the last two chicks ~

The last two chicks added to the flock are

Ameraucanas (a breed developed in the 1970's), similar to Auracanas. Ameraucanas are easier to breed as there are no complications due to lethal genes as with the Auracanas.

Like the Arucanas and Easter Eggers, these Ameraucans will lay pastel colored eggs; either blue, green, pink, or light brown:

Photo: BackyardChickens.com

I named this one 'Sugar'.

And here is her sister~ 'Truffle':

They have beautiful markings on their backs and wings, but I couldn't capture them very well ~ maybe later.

These two have been very gentle so far, and peep very quietly...

however all of this may change as they mature. ;)

If you are interested in keeping chickens, you may want to look into

Chicken L.O.R.E.* at the Backyard Chicken Site.

*Chicken Laws & Ordinances and your Rights and Entitlements

A project to attain the goal of "A Chicken In Every Yard"

Thank you for stopping by to visit today.

New Peeps at our Place...

While growing up my dad was an advocate of growing and raising some of our own food even though our home was located within the city limits~ albeit on a large-size lot by today's standards. We had a good size vegetable garden ~ which later was replaced by a swimming pool ~ much to the delight of us kids! We had a few fruit trees, and we also raised chickens for eggs. We also had rabbits, but they ended up being pets, not food for the table. That was years and years ago and although I've raised ducks for eggs in the meantime, I haven't had chickens since then. I've been wanting to have our own fresh, organic eggs for a while ~ so here we are!



Please say hello to the first five ~ they are all Buff Orpingtons, a beautiful, usually docile and gentle breed developed in the late 1800's in Orpington, Kent, UK.

Photo: Buff Hooligans
They will look similar to example above when full grown. They are "dual-purpose" hens, producing meat and eggs ~ they will be strictly for eggs at our place.

Tomorrow we'll be adding a few more to our little flock:
Photo: Google Silver Laced Wyandotte
(An American bird, developed in New York in the 1870's) and
Photo: Bing.com And Gold Laced Wyandottes (This American breed was developed in Wisconsin, 1880's)

The Buff Orpington's arrived first, here they are when they came home:

Aren't they darling? :D They must be kept quite warm for the first few weeks until their feathers grow in, so into the warm brooder box they went and will stay until they are a little more mature.

Healthy appetites!



Adorable tiny wings, and fluffy tushes ~ but they are growing so fast!




We've picked names for the five so far, the others will be determined as we meet the new chicks. May I introduce to you ~
"Pumpkin"


"Chloe"



"Chelsea"


"Lolly"
"Sassy Sally" (Here she is, walking off the set. I don't think she liked the terms of the photo shoot.) *grin*
Now for the work ~
Presently we're working on the coop ~ It definitely won't be as elegant as one of Martha Stewart's:
Instead this is what I have in mind:

Photo: Buff Hooligans
We'll allow them free-range while supervised, at other times they will have access to their run.

Photo: Buff Hooligans Again, much like this one completely screened, but larger than this because of our larger flock.
If all goes well, we should be enjoying our first eggs in about 5 months or so ... Updates to follow!










If you've ever considered having your own little flock of chickens there are plenty of resources available on the internet. One of my favorites is Backyard Chickens You know I love your comments. And if you have chickens, I would really appreciate hearing from you, too!