A three trip month, one for work, one for family, and one for fun. A spooky sight in the garden, end-of-season harvests, and fall planting. A birthday party with music and a birthday on the beach. And a black eye.
THE HONEYSUCKLE FENCE
Just for fun, this is how our front fence line looked when we moved in eight years ago, before we removed the honeysuckle and straightened the fence in August of 2010. If you squint, you can see our house back in there somewhere. We have come a long way with a new roof and elimination of two poplars, a Bradford pear, and some fence line saplings.
STRANGER THINGS
We were shocked to see two parasitized hornworms on our sun gold cherry tomato plant one morning. Apparently, a certain type of wasp lays its eggs under the caterpillar’s skin. The whole process is truly horrifying. The paralyzed host becomes food for the eggs, who hatch, crawl through the skin and spin their white cocoons.
COOL WEATHER CROP
As the days grew shorter, we went on a shopping trip for fall bedding plants. We planted broccoli and lettuce shown here, and cauliflower, collard greens, and dino kale – 55 starts in all. What you see behind the broccoli is turmeric. That and ginger will be the next crop on our harvest schedule.
ONGOING
The peppers are having a great year. Pan-fried Shishitos and Jimmy Nardello’s; roasted Pimento and Sweet Jemison make for great snacking, stews, and freezer fodder. And we are still whacking away at what used to be the Spot garden. This month we got rid of all the rebar stakes that used to hold the landscape timbers in place and half of the pampas grass.
PEPPERS AND GARLIC
We like the pattern roasted peppers make on parchment paper. Bob grew beautiful garlic this year and hung it in the garage. When it was cured, Camille cleaned it up and brought it inside.
TREE BALLET
Brought to you by Hurricane Florence.
A TRIP NORTH FOR CAMILLE
Bob had a business trip or he would have joined Camille and her brothers to move their mother’s stuff from her apartment into a house. Camille made sure to schedule time to visit her friend Donna and her new horsey friend, Cash. More on both stories at: Moving Cookie’s Parents
UNITED SHINER
Camille noticed what looked like a smear of grease on her eyelid in the restroom mirror at the DC airport between flights home, but when she wiped at it, nothing came off on her fingers. It didn’t hurt at all, she hadn’t bumped her head or gotten into a fight on the airplane, so as far as we can figure a blood vessel must have burst. The next day, it was twice as big.
ALMOST SIXTY
Bob borrowed these snazzy sunglasses from the Air BnB we booked to get a little beach birthday R&R. At 59, he proves that he is still young at heart and as playful as all get out.
PARTY ON THE BEACH
Cider, courtesy of Chatham Cider Works, a seagull hoping for wayward chips, the sand, the surf, and thou. That’s how to celebrate a milestone birthday.
OFF-SEASON EMERALD ISLE
We decided that Bob’s birthday, September 25th, is the ideal time of year to go to the beach – the water is warm and the crowds have thinned.
COOKIE IN REPOSE
A well-earned rest after a week of pawing through her parent’s stuff. More on that story at: Moving Cookie’s Parents
FROM HEAD TO TOE
Two old folks, lapping it up.
STORM DAMAGE
Hurricane Florence had done quite a number on the Carolina coast. The island was bustling with carpenters, roofers, and arborists and a parade of giant tandem trucks made their way off island carrying tons of debris.
The busted Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier presents an unforgettable image of Florence’s fury.
MARY’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
This year, Mary decided to celebrate her birthday at home. Renate, Mary, and Camille relax on the couch, waiting for guests to arrive. Mary hired a three piece string band who call themselves The String Beings (what else?!). The String Beings set up in the garage and tickled our ear drums with down home country music.
TAMALE KING
Doug provided an enormous pot of his signature vegetarian tamales and everyone brought a dish. This is one of three tables laden with food and drink. Those who walked away not clutching their stomachs were either hyper-disciplined or just not paying attention.
FIRSTS AND LASTS
Nolan’s first day of school and one of his last days in the home he has lived in all of his short life.
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THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:
“The test of a man isn’t what you think he’ll do; it’s what he actually does.” – Frank Herbert, Dune
“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi
“I can put up a fairly bold show when representing some larger cause than myself.” – Charles Portis “The Dog of the South”
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