People either get it or they don’t. They either dream of showering outdoors or they think people who want to stand buck nekkid under the water in the great outdoors are nuts. For the record, I belong in the first category.
I am not at my most fragrant and lovely best at the end of a gardening day. In fact, most Saturdays and Sundays—when I do most of my intensive outdoor work—I have to end the day by vacuuming up the dirt, leaves and mulch I inevitably track or sprinkle in the house. And I stink. I definitely channel my peasant roots on weekends.
So an outdoor shower isn’t just a hedonistic luxury. It serves a practical purpose to de-stinkify the head gardener at our house.
Finally, I bit the bullet and installed the outdoor garden shower this year. I say bit the bullet because I had to hire two men to work for the better part of two days to install it. A licensed plumber ran the pipes through the basement to the great outdoors. A carpenter did most of the rest. If we had done it ourselves, the shower would consist of a cold water hose held up with a nail and a bungee cord. Two men/two days was a good investment.
The size is about 6′ x6′ with an 18″ bench along one side. What you don’t see here is what is underneath. Because the shower is against the house, they installed a French drain with a large tube that runs underground and into the woods. This keeps the moisture from gathering near the house and into the basement.
Tall walls surround the enclosure, but really, that’s a formality considering we live on 20+ acres down a long driveway. In fact, I actually liked showering there better before the guys put up the walls.
Although my husband was an early supporter of the idea, Ben didn’t get the allure of the outdoor shower. But now that it’s built, I notice that more often than not, he’s traipsing outside with a beach towel. Now he gets it.
I knew someone–besides me–was eating my tomatoes. I blamed it on woodchucks, squirrels, even skunks. But now I know the truth, because I caught him red-handed.
A short while ago I was sitting on the garden bench and saw one of the tomato plants swaying to and fro. At the bottom, I could see movement of some beastie attacking the low-handing fruit. On close inspection, I saw this Eastern Box Turtle standing on his two hind legs munching away. Oh, he looks timid now. But he is a tomato eating beast!
To be fair, I have encountered him in the garden before–under flowers and leaves. But I had never put two and two together. You can bet he has a big move coming to a new home far, far up the driveway. I don’t take kindly to tomato thieves.
He should pass that along to his friends before I get back out there.
Margaret over at A Way to Garden is encouraging a bloggers’ recipe exchange to take advantage of the summer harvest.
This week is cucumbers. Good thing too, because I have cucumbers!
How about this Armenian Yardlong Cucumber? Yes, it is supposed to be this light yellow, almost white color. And this one is well on its way to being a yard long.
Unfortunately, my first Armenian Yardlong Cucumber was bitter. But I have taken steps to remedy that. If you are plagued with bitter cucumbers, check out my Examiner post on how to avoid them.
Here’s a great way to enjoy the flavor of your garden fresh cucumbers–Asian Cucumber Salad. My favorite!
Ingredients
3 medium cucumbers, peeled, de-seeded, sliced lengthwise and in thin slices
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in a skillet until golden brown
Toss the cucumbers with the kosher salt and place in a colander in the sink. Place an ice-filled bag on the cucumbers to drain for 45 minutes to an hour. Whisk all the remaining ingredients, except the sesame seeds, until blended and the sugar is dissolved. Rinse the cucumbers and dry with paper towels. Toss the cucumbers and dressing. Top with sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Harry and I spent the better part of the weekend painting the master bedroom. We traded off between rolling and detail work and we both made our fair share of messes. For a while Sophie perched on top of a chaise to supervise our work. Sarah was distraught. She does not like change.
Today we get back to normal. I will have to do something about my manicure. Speckled fingernails in Benjamin Moore Light Pewter is not really a good look.
Here’s wishing you a happy, calm and productive week.
If you’re in the neighborhood and just happen to have your paintbrush and paint clothes with you, stop on by. Harry and I are taking the day off from work to start painting the master bedroom. We figure it’ll take until Sunday. Harry does most of the rolling—no small chore with high ceilings—and I do all the tedious detail work. You, of course, can pitch in wherever you like.
We’re painting it a dove grey. So if you see some grey in my hair in the next few days, it’s paint. Got it? The grey is paint.
Happy Groundhog Day! What are you doing to celebrate?
We’ll have a special dinner of NOT groundhog. Dinner will be a special pasta (TBD) and some yummy homemade yeast rolls. Then we’ll pull out the photo album of past Groundhog Days and reminisce. We will toast Puxatawny Phil by opening the first bottle of my homemade apfelwein, which I hope is sparkly by now. If it’s any good, you’ll hear more about it.
Working from a home office is not always what it’s cracked up to be. I have a lousy IT department (me). Interruptions range from barking dogs to crowing roosters. I hear my business phone ring during non-business hours.
But there is a lot good about a 15 step commute. Such as today. It’s cloudy and a bit drizzly, but the temps will climb into the mid 60s for the second day in a row. I will turn off the heat, throw open the windows and give the house—and office—a good airing. Ahhh!
