For a long time now, my List has included a wish to see a cinnamon tree plantation. I’d like to know what cinnamon trees look like as they’re growing and I’d like to know how the bark gets stripped off and so forth. Some day, I’d like to visit Sri Lanka, where cinnamon is a major export. But for a while, it hasn’t been a very safe place to visit, what with the civil wars and such. Some day…
Yesterday I worked at school in the morning, but took the afternoon to do something fun. All work and no play makes Brad a dull boy. I went to Homestead Gardens. I have been saying for a while now that it’s my favorite garden center in Maryland, but I never buy anything there, so I’m starting to wonder. It’s a nice drive though, and walking around looking at plants is always fun. But on this particular visit, I was reminded of my List – they had a cinnamon tree for sale! An honest-to-goodness cinnamon tree! I might have considered buying it, but it cost $170. No, thank you. But I did get a picture of it.
It’s been about a month since my last video garden tour. Here’s the one for August:
My lotus plants are finished blooming, but their seed heads remain. As the seeds mature, they darken. I thought they would be squishy like berries, but they’re quite hard. Curious about the whole topic, I went to the internet for information about lotus seeds. As it turns out, they’re edible. One site said they taste kind of like chiquapins. I don’t know what the heck chiquapins are, so the only reasonable way to find out what a lotus seed tasted like was to eat one.
It was incredibly hard. I think there is an outer shell that you’re not supposed to eat. I ended up spitting out the shell… or at least whatever part wasn’t stuck between my teeth. The inside of the seed actually had rather a nice flavor. It was nutty. I’m not all excited about trying another lotus seed for now, but I know if I’m ever stranded in my front yard with nothing to eat and my life depends on it, lotus seeds wouldn’t be a bad way to stay alive.
I ate with my Dinner For Eight group from church last night. I love the style of the woman who hosted. She’s got an elegant sixties vibe going. Before we ate, we all had cocktails mixed from the bar. I made my first Manhattan. I was just okay. Not bad, but not good.
I was assigned to bring the salad. I was excited because I thought maybe I could use peaches. My peach tree in my back yard is loaded with small peaches. While working in the garden the other day I ate one. It was delicious.
I searched for a salad recipe that used peaches and found one. It’s spinach, peaches, toasted pecans, and poppy seed dressing. It was tasty.
The dinner went late! I thought retired people were supposed to be “early to bed” kind of people. But in spite of the late hour, I had fun. It was delicious food and great company.
Happy Half Birthday to me! Yay! I know I say this every year, but it’s customary on someone’s half birthday to tell them how awesome they are.
The bamboo roots are out, and I’m finally making some progress on the actual firepit plot. I started by laying some flagstone pavers. I was putting them on a slanted area, so it was either dig one side in or build one side up. I decided to build up. It took a lot of dirt and a lot of sand, but the flagstones are flat and even looking. I hope they stay that way.
BEFORE ANY WORK:
PAVERS IN PLACE:
The previous owner left cement blocks around the storm drain in my back yard. More free materials! Woo hoo! I used them to build the fire area. After getting the base materials in place, I really wanted to get to the walls of the firepit. I built the first level, then tore it apart, then started building it again, then had to stop. I’m glad I’m putting it off for another day. Building the firepit walls is the funnest part!
I started the Fire Pit Project yesterday. But before I build the fire pit, I need to build a small patio out of flagstone. And before I build the patio, I need to move the small plants that surround that area. And before I move the small plants, I need to move the bamboo. Years ago I had planted it in a plastic tub that was buried in the ground, but it escaped. I had to kill it before it became too strong… kill it before it was too late.
I started by cutting all the stems, bundling them, and taking them to the dump. The dump guy thanked me for bundling them. Then he thanked me again. They’re so nice there now! After getting back home, I had to rest a little. When I had started digging the tub out of the ground, I encountered a lot of buried rocks. My right forearm was aching from the impact of all the chipping.
Resting made my arm feel better, so I went out to dig again. I could dig around the tub, but I couldn’t move it. The tub is a mass of bamboo roots now and is unliftable. I think I’ll need to cut the root mass into pieces. That will be today’s challenge…
BEFORE:
AFTER:
And, for the archive… I have to post a picture of the bamboo roots that were growing on the outside of the tub. It was only one little stem that got out of the tub. I started digging underneath it, and it was like fingers were digging into the soil… giant, fleshy, bony fingers plunging into the ground. It creeped me out. One of the roots broke. I poured gasoline on the piece still in the ground.
