I haven't added much here in quite a while. Life has been pretty stressful the last few months: some health problems for family members that are turning out not to be quite as bad as first thought and a tidal wave of work. I think this weekend may be the first time I have had a couple of days off since early November. We haven't done anything with the house and our winter preparations for the garden were negligible to non-existent. We did plant a few more berries and a couple of fruit trees (cherry and pear), but we didn't get the compost spread or more ground cleared. The lamb's lettuce has been growing wonderfully and the winter onions seem to be holding up to the cold.

The cold. We haven't had too much in the way of snow, certainly not enough to be any fun, but we have had several bouts of serious cold. Never together though. It warms up and snows, everything melts and then the next cold snap comes. Ever since New Year we have had steady deep cold, rarely getting above freezing.

The cold has also driven various rodents into the house. We discovered that we have mice in the pantry when they chewed up a large sack of potatoes. After a week or two of trying to convince the cats that it was their job to do something about the mice, we finally broke down and bought a live trap. Really, the cats should have been doing it; they both have experience with mousing. The first night we caught our first. It turned out to be a vole. We drove it far away and set it out in a place where it ought to be able to survive the winter. Today we caught our second, this time a shrew. No wonder the cats weren't interested. The vole went out to the compost piles where it ought to be able to dig in. They're good for the garden.

I think I've mentioned seeing a few foxes. I've come to rather like them and feel sorry for them, since most of them look scared. Wednesday night it snowed and after I walked the dog Thursday morning, I left the back door open while I shoveled the front steps and walk. That gave the cats a chance to go outside for a few minutes. My wife saw what happened next from the office window. Our younger cat – in looks and behavior 100% Holy Burmese, but in birth 100% barn cat – went stalking slowly up to one of the bushes, acting very strangely. Then the dog came out to investigate and suddenly a very large fox came dashing out and tore away over the field. Never have I been so glad to have a dog.

I still like the foxes, but I think I like them better when they're not so close.

As some of you know, I recently spent a week in Ischia. It wouldn’t really have been my first choice as a vacation destination nor that of my wife, but my mother-in-law insisted on giving us this trip. We managed to talk her into only one week instead of two (fortunately, since the first week we could go was the last week of the season), pleading the inability of freelancers to close business for that long (partly true, the main reason being that is roughly the length of time my wife can stand long term exposure to her mother).

Anyway, we had been having a glorious fall, with foggy mornings giving way to splendid, warm afternoons. The day we left, though, the fog was thick enough to cut with a knife and it was maybe 8°C (46°F). We had to get up a 6 in order to have enough time to breakfast, finish packing and drive to the airport for our noon flight. Unusually, we managed to get our timing right and leave on time for once, which gave us enough time to grab a few extras at the airport (notably cards – my wife’s cousin who was also there is a fanatic card player – and a couple of sandwiches).

The flight was largely uneventful. All across Germany we could see the low-lying areas still thickly blanketed with fog. The sandwiches proved to be a good idea, since this turned out to be a seriously budget flight; you even had to pay for the peanuts. We crossed the Alps near Bozen, passed almost directly over Venice, and flew down over the Adriatic, before cutting across Italy to Naples.

In Naples, it was easily 25°C (77°F) and clear as a bell. The Naples airport is one of those old-fashioned airports where you deplane on the tarmac and take a bus to the terminal. To our surprise, the luggage was already being unloaded onto the carousel by the time we got to baggage claim, and we didn’t have to wait long for the bus to take us there. We were then met by the mainland representative of the tour company, who handed us over to a shuttle driver who would take us to the ferry harbor.

We went through the old town and Naples hasn’t changed since the days of Sophia Loren. The same buildings in need of paint, packed close together, the same laundry hanging from every balcony. The traffic met every stereotype you ever saw about Italian streets: scant attention to traffic laws, cars forming two rows in one lane, suicidal Vespa riders zipping in and out, we even went the wrong way down a one way street. But we got to the harbor in one piece.

The driver bought our ferry tickets and showed us where to board the boat. We had enough time to enjoy the sun and cram our jackets into the suitcase before boarding. I noticed both there in the ferry harbor and in all the harbors on the island that none of them had that smell of oil, dead fish, and seaweed that is so typical elsewhere. We took the jet boat, so the crossing was only 45 minutes. We followed the mainland most of the way west, passing Pozzuoli on our right and then the island of Procida on our left, before pulling into the harbor at Ischia Porto.

There we were met by another tour rep who handed us off to a driver who took us to our hotel. We stayed in Forio, so we got to see the entire north shore. The trip was less hair-raising than the one in Naples, mostly due to significantly less traffic. Some of the main roads are pretty narrow though and on some steep hillsides.

We finally got to the hotel around 5, where we ran into my mother-in-law just setting out for a walk. She took us to check-in, introduced us to a few of the staff, followed us up to our room, and then treated us to a cappuccino. Afterwards, we had time to unpack and rest a bit before dinner. We were both nodding into our deserts, so then it was off to bed.

The hotel was situated in hills above Forio (actually the village of Cuotto). We had a splendid view out to sea and the impressive slopes of Mt. Epomeo above us. North along the terrace, but slightly downhill, was the dining room. One of the typical features of the island is the way the people have hollowed out volcanic outcrops over the centuries, turning them into barns, houses, even dog houses and rabbit hutches. The core of the dining room had once been such a barn, now with a larger dining room built in front of it. Below the dining terrace was the pool and outdoor thermal pool. Dinner most nights consisted of an appetizer buffet, followed by a warm appetizer, then a course with a choice (usually) of pasta, risotto, or soup, then the main course (usually a choice of meat, fish, and sometimes vegetarian), and finally desert of ice cream, fruit, cheese, or the special dessert of the day. It’s a good thing we did a lot of walking or I would have gained 10 pounds.

The next morning after breakfast, my mother-in-law decided she would take a short walk over to Panza and we decided to go along. The walk there was reasonably short and we got to see a town somewhat less touched by tourists. We started going downhill towards the bay of Sorgetto, but then turned around since we didn’t have our bathing gear with us and didn’t want to make the effort to get back uphill for nothing. Then my mother-in-law decided to “surprise” us by taking us to a restaurant near the lighthouse without telling us about it. Unfortunately, she got turned around and we walked for hours up and down hill along the coast. Finally a group of Austrian tourists got us pointed in the right direction. Turns out the restaurant had been closed for four years. We barely made it back to the hotel in time for a bruschetta before the kitchens closed. We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.

Mondays, the museums in Italy are closed and the weather wasn’t quite so nice, so we went into Forio to look around. My mother-in-law took us to the Seaman’s church, but it was also closed. Then we went on to Porto (a one week bus pass was part of the package, so we could go wherever we wanted). That turned out to be rather pointless; all the shops close from 1:00 to 4:30 or 5:00 and that was the time we were there. All in all, not the best day of the trip.

Tuesday morning we went in to Sant’Angelo. Very picturesque, although overrun with tourists. There’s a nice little bay, protected by a large headland (probably artificially connected to the mainland). Many of the shops are carved right into the hillside, and the whole place has a sort of “Pirates of the Caribbean” atmosphere. It’s probably one of my favorite places on the island, even if it is rather touristy. That afternoon, we went to La Mortella, the gardens designed for the English composer William Walton. They were a bit of a disappointment, though that may be because I grew up near the LA County Arboretum and Huntington Gardens. We both thought the presentation lacked something, though parts were nice. We probably missed the flowering of the Victoria amazonica by just a few days.

Tuesday night as dinner was winding down, the serving staff came dancing out of the bar with tambourines to the tune of Funiculi Funicula and encouraged everybody to follow them back to the piano. There followed renditions of O Sole Mio, Volare, and other somewhat stereotypical Italian numbers.

Wednesday, we finally broke free of my mother-in-law and set out to explore the island by ourselves. We took the counterclockwise bus and got off whenever we felt like it. Our first stop was Serrara, mostly to look for a bathroom. A very pretty view down into Sant’Angelo, but little else. Next stop, Fontana, the jumping off point for climbing Mt. Epomeo. We thought about going at least part way up, but the way was very steep and my wife didn’t really have the right shoes along, so we just wandered around town for a while. We also had our first experience in just how differently the islanders treat you, when you aren’t a German tourist. Faces light up and people get a lot friendlier. I had been told about this by an old friend who had spent some time on the island, but it was something else to see it in action. We spent the rest of the time being Americans (real in my case).

We then got off the bus in Buonapane. Big mistake. There is absolutely nothing there. Actually, a few stops later there is a well dedicated to a nymph where they have found a few artifacts, but I didn’t know about it at the time. We stayed on the bus through Barano. We passed under an aqueduct, though I didn’t know if it was ancient or modern. It seemed rather small, but apparently it is authentic. Oh, well.

We tried to get out in Ponte, with the plan of heading toward the Castello, but a hassled bus driver and a crowded bus made us miss our stop. We wound up in Porto instead. We wandered through the large public park, which is largely in a wild state. Near most of the entrances to the park are areas for the feral cats. There are feeding stations and small houses for them. We finally made our way down to the beach, so we actually touched the Mediterranean. Then a pizza. (So-so, but the restaurant had a very friendly cat, calico but with smoke gray instead of black.)

Our final stop of the day was Lacco Ameno, the site of the original Greek settlement of Pithecusa. This is where most of the archaeology of the island can be seen. After walking through the town, we went to the church of Santa Restituta. Entering at the side, you can visit a small museum with items excavated there on site and enter the excavations under the church. At first it was rather disappointing; just a lot of very small potsherds, ranging from the Neolithic to the eighteenth century, mixed in with a few older church items. The next room was devoted to pictures of the saint rescuing sailors in need that had been dedicated by those who had escaped shipwreck. They varied greatly in quality and mostly came from the last couple of centuries. (It will become apparent later why I even bring this up.) Then down a flight of stairs and under the church. There were a number of archaeological layers in situ, mostly covering the fourth century BC, second century AD and the medieval period, with a few Hellenistic objects as well. There is a large number of pre-Greek loom weights, allegedly with erotic scenes on them, though they were all turned so that those scenes were hidden. There are several amphora burials, mostly of children, dating from the second and fourth centuries AD, a couple of kilns (one Hellenistic, the other late Roman), a medieval tomb, and a few other things. The best thing here was several roof tiles from a second century brick maker. Several of them showed clear paw prints from cats (one where the cat had obviously jumped down in a great hurry) and one from a dog. On the whole, it was probably worth the 3 euro admission, but the museum could use some work.

We opted not to try to visit the Pithecusae museum that day. It was getting late and neither of us felt like trudging up the hill to the Villa Arbusto. Instead we caught the bus. It started to rain as we passed through Forio and we got rather wet on the 350 meter walk uphill to the hotel. Since I also fell rather heavily on my knee, we took the time for a quick dip in the thermal pool before dinner.

Thursday was extremely rainy and we spent the morning in the hotel. That afternoon we went down to Forio for a bruschetta and then on to the Pithecusae Museum. (We were able to get off the bus at the top of the hill this time.) This was what I had most wanted to see on the island, but I came away slightly disappointed. The museum is in one of the buildings of an early nineteenth century villa that was restored by an Italian movie producer in the sixties.

The museum is divided into eight halls, each devoted to a different period ranging from the Neolithic to the Roman era. The presentation here was certainly a lot more professional than in Santa Restituta and there were signs in English in each of the halls explaining the time period, but that was it unless you speak Italian. The earlier items grew to be just a tad repetitive, though it was interesting to see evidence of trade with North Africa going back so far. But as the finds move into the Geometric period, they get more interesting and then come the two real highlights of the museum. First the Shipwreck Crater, which shows a ship overturned and a couple of human figures floating among some fish. In many ways, it reminded me of some of the pictures dedicated to Saint Restituta. And then in the next case, the famous Cup of Nestor. Imported from Rhodes and inscribed with three lines of poetry before being placed in the grave of a ten-year old boy. The lines read: I am the cup of Nestor from which one can drink with pleasure, but whoever drinks from this cup will immediately be seized by desire for Aphrodite of the beautiful diadem. This is one of the oldest examples of written Greek and the first fragment of poetry from the time of Homer. Elsewhere are some nice animal figurines, particularly some horses and mules. I also found it interesting that the quality of the goods declined seriously during the Hellenistic period (IMO, at least), before picking up again slightly under the Romans.

Then we walked down the hill to Lacco where we bought a couple of gifts, notably a bottle of each of the two liqueurs the island is famous for: lemon and arugula (I kid you not). Then back to the hotel. There were so few of us left by then that they moved us all into the grotto. There was as much red wine as you wanted on the house and our group was treated to the dessert reserved for special guests and occasions (both my mother-in-law and wife’s cousin are regular visitors): crepes Suzette.

Miserable weather again on Friday. We stayed in again until the afternoon, though we took a last dip in the thermal pool (too cold for the regular pool). Then we went down to Sant’Angelo again. We had another bruschetta (the tomatoes on the island are really good) and climbed up the headland a little way. Then a couple more gifts, the bus to Panza for a few munchies, and back to the hotel. That evening, there was a small cocktail party instead of the usual appetizer bar. This time there was as much pro secco as you wanted.

The next morning we had enough time for a leisurely breakfast before we were picked up and taken to the ferry harbor in Porto. We had a half hour to kill before we could board, so we had a Campari. Then back across the bay to Naples, where were met once again by the mainland rep. We had a mini-bus this time since there were so any of us. That meant we took the main roads to the airport instead of going through the old town. Much less picturesque. Everything was running smoothly to that point. We got to the airport about two hours before our flight and checked in only to learn that there was a delay of an hour and a half. Ultimately, that stretched out to two and a half hours. We got vouchers that we could use in the airport restaurants, so we were at least able to eat something decent. By the time we finally landed in Hannover, collected our luggage, drove my mother-in-law home, and made our way back to our house it was 11:00 PM. Not the best end to a vacation.

I don’t know if we’ll go back or not. My mother-in-law wants to take us again, but we both feel like we pretty much exhausted the island. There are one or two things I might go to see, but if I don’t see them, I won’t really feel left out. On the other hand, it may be unavoidable. Her eightieth birthday is in two years and she may take us again. At least she has hinted that we might make a side trip to Cumae. But that is in the future. Right now there is still a ton of things to get done around here and not enough time. At least the Indian summer is still going strong and the hills are a gorgeous riot of color.

Sunday was the German version of Thanksgiving, so that seems like a good time to wrap up the harvest news. Since I last wrote, we pulled in something like 10 kg of blackberries and most of that has gone to jam. We’re currently in the middle of the apple harvest. We only have one tree, but this seems to have been a really good year for apples. Just out of the windfall apples, we already have one good size batch of applesauce and 3 liters of juice already made into jelly. We still have a ton of windfalls for more of both and even more apples in good shape for storing. As far as we can tell, the apples are Cox orange or something very similar.

We harvested a few of the runner beans early had cooked those like green beans (in the pod), which is not my favorite form. We still have a lot left. Most will go to seed for next year, but maybe we’ll be able to cook up a few as regular beans. Some late season lamb’s lettuce that we thought wasn’t going to come actually did. We should be able to get a couple of salads out of that. We still have to pick the cranberries, but the season is definitely winding down. The tomatoes were a complete failure. It was just too cold and wet this summer. Maybe we’ll have better luck next year. We did get a couple of peppers and they were nice. Some more are coming in, but it’s too late and I doubt they’ll have time to ripen.

Now, of course, we still have to prepare everything for the winter. I have to clear the patch we have designated as our future herb garden and the rest of the vegetable garden. We still have to get together with the neighbor and talk about our field. We really only want one small section right now, extending a line from the veggie garden. That will give us room for another vegetable bed and several more fruit trees. He can still have the rest for his cows.

The kites are still around. I saw one a couple of days ago and heard one yesterday. But they should be heading south soon. The swallows are already gone. Really about all that’s left are magpies, crows, various sorts of tit and finch, and a few doves.

I see I haven’t posted anything in quite awhile. The biggest reason is that we haven’t done much of anything to house or garden in the meanwhile. The weather has been abominable; we went almost a month without seeing the sun once. Wednesday was our first even vaguely summery day. That means what little has been ripening has done so slowly. On top of that, this is the beginning of the Christmas season for translators; anything that is supposed to be available for the holidays has to be translated now.

We got a small handful of bush beans, with a few more coming, but they will never amount to anything by themselves. We sowed a late crop of lettuce, fennel, carrots, and radishes, but thus far nothing has sprouted. The ants may have run off with everything first, but we’ll see. Unfortunately, most of the tomatoes are rotting on the vine. It has just been too wet and they have mostly mildewed. The few plants under cover haven’t had this problem. I don’t know if that is mostly because of this year’s lousy weather or if it will always be like that. Maybe next year I will build something to provide cover for more.

The blackberries are ripe now and we harvested our first bunch today. Mostly for jam, the rest for on ice cream (and probably more jam in the next few days). We have both thornless and regular varieties; most of the thornless varieties don’t taste of anything, but we seem to have gotten lucky and these do. We have one last bush of blueberries that is just starting to ripen, which means more blueberry muffins, pancakes, and other baked goods in the near future. The cranberries (lingon berries actually, since they don’t grow in bogs, but usually called cranberries anyway) produced a weak, rather odd-tasting crop, but they have also flowered again, this time two or three times as much as before. That should give us a nice load in the early autumn. The apples are also coming along very nicely. If anyone knows of a website where one can try to figure out what variety of apple one has, please let me know.

The potatoes-under-straw experiment has been a qualified success. In a space about half a meter long and two rows wide we just harvested twice what four people need (tonight’s dinner, yum!), and that takes into account that many were small because we planted late. The bigger problem was that about half of them had been hollowed out by slugs. But the principle works.

Speaking of slugs, they have been a huge problem, as you can see from some of my earlier entries. It has become clear to us that we will have to use some kind of slug bait next year, despite our desires to do everything ecologically. Fortunately, there are a couple of new kinds out there that are much greener and don’t pose a health hazard to mammals (particularly our cats and any hedgehogs).

Meanwhile, the farmers in the neighborhood have also finally been able to harvest. The last of the canola fields have been harvested (and I can, indeed, see the sixth village) and they have been working hard to get the wheat in. The last few days, they have been taking advantage of the bright moonlight and working until midnight or so.

Next month will call for a lot more work, clearing ground, planting and so on. I hope I have enough time.

With all the harvesting going on, the birds of prey are having a good time. The kites are still around, though somehow I see them less often. But the population of buzzards has grown considerably and tonight, while we were eating outside, a falcon flew over. This afternoon, I watched the buzzards and kites fighting (or at least trying to drive each other away). Of the other birds, the swifts have already left. Seems early to me, but they’re definitely gone.

Time for the early harvest and things are pretty busy. We had a few radishes (very spicy), lots of raspberries (most for jam, some frozen for ice cream and hot raspberries, more to come), tons of blueberries (can’t look at another blueberry pancake) with a lot more to come. We didn’t get many strawberries since June and early July were rather damp and cold; most of them went bad before we could get them. We also have had tons of lettuce (just right for the hot weather we’re having now), though I think it’s getting ready to shoot soon.

The peppers and tomatoes are coming along nicely and we should get a few carrots at least. The garlic is doing very well and all of the elephant garlic finally sprouted. The potatoes are doing fantastic, especially the experimental planting under the straw; unfortunately, the ones we planted to fight the bishop’s weed seem to be losing. Some of the dill has finally sprouted and the runner beans are mostly doing all right. The bush beans on the other hand have not done well; two still live but one has been so chewed up by the slugs, I doubt it will produce. The other might. We look to have a bumper crop of apples coming.

On the wildflower front, the yarrow is now in full bloom, another variety of hawkweed has sprouted, and we have lots of self-heal all over. There is also quite a bit of fireweed (also known as willowherb) and lots of plantains (not the little bananas, but the plant that the Plantagenets used as their badge).

We finally got carpet down in our middle daughter’s room, so it is now finished. Not that she’s around to enjoy it. Poor thing is being paid to take a vacation on the coast of northern Normandy, watching over a bunch of 13-16 year-olds on a guest exchange.

We finally got a really long electrical cord and I have been trying to mow down the worst of the grass where there aren’t any wildflowers. Tough work and I can really only do it for an hour or so at a time, because I can only start in the evening. We also have four ugly metal poles in the yard that the previous owner used to hang up her wash. If we hang our laundry out to dry, we’ll do it elsewhere so the poles have to come out. No problem, I thought. Just a little digging to free up the concrete anchors and done. Hah! I’ve managed to get the first one out. The anchor is about 50 cm (16 in) long and about 20 cm (8 in) across. If the information I found on the density of concrete is right, then the thing weighs about 40 kilos (nearly 90 pounds). It wasn’t easy getting it out of a hole not too much bigger. The next one might not be too bad, since it sits on a slope and seems to be pretty loose, but the other two seem to be rock solid.

The farmers have started harvesting the barley, so the fields are changing every day. The wheat looks like it still has a way to go, but the canola should be next. I think the sugar beets get harvest in September. I’m looking forward to the canola harvest. There’s a small hill up behind the house, right on the edge of the fields. The distance is just right for the dog’s shorter first-thing-in-the-morning and last-thing-at-night walks and I like to pause there and look around. The other day I noticed that from there I can see five separate villages (well, four villages and the town) all of which belong to our town. I think once they harvest the canola field there, I should be able to see a sixth. It’s a gorgeous view.

Well, the garden is coming along nicely. The strawberries are ripening, a few everyday. It isn’t enough to do anything with, but enough for everyone to have one or two. The blueberries are getting close. Right now, we get one or two a day (but maybe a tad premature), but within the next week or two, we should have a ton. The tomatoes are starting to bear as are the peppers. The lettuce is finally growing, apart from two plants that just up and died for no apparent reason. We have a few radishes and one or two carrots have just started to show. Lots of scarlet runner beans, but only four bush beans popped up and two of them have been slaughtered by slugs. The rest of the bush beans and seemingly all of the corn appear to have been eaten by birds before they even had a chance to sprout.

A few more wildflowers have cropped up: celandine (which we have had all along, but I have forgotten to mention), birdsfoot trefoil, yarrow (my wife’s favorite flower), and quite a bit of clover. There is also a very nice stand of yellow loosestrife, which straddles the line between a garden flower and a wildflower. We also have a large morning glory in with the blackberries.

We’ve done a little bit with the house the last few days. The upstairs bathroom has a window that overlooks a covered area outside the back door. (How nice to have bathroom windows; in our old place the bathrooms were a constant battleground against mold.) The previous owners had put up some siding out of corrugated roofing paper along one side of the terrace starting at the upstairs level; on the other side was wood siding extending the line of the former cow barn. This kept the bathroom rather dark, particularly since it is all in dark beige tiles and wood paneling. Over the weekend, we tore down the siding and there is a lot more light. No real loss of privacy (except the cows can look in if they want). I think when they put the stuff up originally there was a more direct view into the neighbor’s yard than there is today.

I also successfully replaced the toilet tank in the upstairs bathroom. Maybe not a major achievement, but I’ve never been terribly handy, so it felt like one. It’s not the greatest job, but it will do for a couple of years until we completely redo that room.

I realized yesterday that not a day goes by when I am not aware of at least one member of an endangered species running free in its natural habitat. On those rare days when I don’t actually see the red kite, I always hear it. Some days I even see more than one. There are also some goldfinches in the area. Not in our neighborhood, but the other day we saw a black stork while driving back from my mother-in-law’s. And a couple of days ago, I had a fox run across the road in front of me with a bird I its mouth. (Foxes aren’t endangered, but still…) I’ve seen one or two other foxes from farther away and roe deer are a not uncommon sight on roadsides in the evenings. It’s a far cry from the occasional possum or raccoon digging through the trash or coyote sneaking off in the dark that I grew up with.

The garden is finally done. I had hoped to get the last rows hoed out, what, two weeks ago? A combination of really lousy weather and quite a bit of work kept me from putting in as much time as I really wanted to.

The garden that it was too late to do anything with was originally supposed to have a couple of rows for tomato seedlings from a friend. In the last couple of days I hacked out rows ten and eleven (not counting a couple of extra wide rows to allow for foot paths) and the tomatoes (a later batch, the originals were done in by frost in mid-May) are finally in. The final tally is: two and a half rows of strawberries interspersed with garlic; three rows of potatoes, being grown experimentally under straw; a row with four bell peppers, the rest lettuce interspersed with corn (maize); a row of carrots and radishes; a row of bush beans, with dill; then finally a row of tomatoes (plus one zucchini); and last another row with tomatoes and scarlet runner beans.

We’ll see what comes up; we planted a lot of this rather late. The strawberries are doing well and should be ripe soon. The garlic is also doing fantastic, except for the elephant garlic which may finally be sprouting. The potatoes are coming along nicely, especially on the edges, but those in the center are starting to poke out above the straw too. The peppers have budded, but no flowers as yet, while the lettuce is exactly the same size it was three weeks ago. No sign of the corn, carrots, or radishes, though my wife says the radishes are starting to show and it is a bit early for the rest. Also nothing from the bush beans, and the runner beans just went in (they’re just for show anyway). The tomatoes haven’t really gotten any bigger either, but one or two have flowered.

Elsewhere, there are a few more tomatoes under a small shelter. They haven’t done anything either. The other zucchini and the summer squash were all devoured by slugs. The apple tree is full, the raspberries have set, the blackberries are blooming like mad, and in a week or so we will be up to our ears in blueberries (if the birds don’t get them first).

The only new wildflower in the yard since last time is a variety of hawkweed (most likely orange hawkweed). This seems to be generally considered a noxious weed, but we rather like it.

This afternoon, I joined a very select club: people who have been bitten by a caterpillar. I picked some wildflowers while walking the dog. There I was with a handful of chamomile, poppies, and vetch and suddenly I felt this pain in my thumb. I looked down and a small caterpillar was trying to eat a leaf that was lying flat on my skin. He managed to slice into me while trying to bite off a chunk of plant. It feels like a bad paper cut, but a weird experience all around.

Well, I haven’t managed to get all of the rows hoed out yet. Over the weekend it was brutally hot, well over 90° F, and I could only manage to do a little late in the evening after dinner. It stays light very late here, but I could still only manage about half a row a day. The weather turned cooler yesterday, but two big projects left me with no time for the garden. With luck, I can get back out there tomorrow.

Still, we have managed to get a fair bit into the ground. We transplanted 2 and half rows of strawberries from elsewhere and interspersed those with garlic. We even managed to find some elephant garlic (pricey, but nearly impossible to find here) and plant a few cloves of that. The strawberries are starting to set and the garlic has poked up.

We got most of the potatoes down thanks to a special technique: apparently, if you just set the potatoes on the ground and them cover them with a foot or so of straw mulch, they grow just fine. The bonus is that when it comes time to harvest the new potatoes are right there to be picked up. No digging. We have plenty of straw for mulch, so we’ll see how that turns out.

We also have a few tomatoes (a couple of yellow and a couple of cherry) with more to come. Some bell peppers, a row of corn and lettuce. We got two zucchini plants into our completed compost heap and they’re growing like mad. OK, anyone can grow zucchini, but the blackbirds have been after them. We hope to plant a bit more corn and maybe some bush beans before it’s too late.

As I said before, the plums were wiped out before we moved in and only a few cherries survived. The apples appear to be setting nicely, though. It looks like we’re going to have a bumper crop of blueberries (have to remember to get the nets over them before the birds eat everything). There are quite a few gooseberries, though not really enough for jam or anything; maybe one pie or just for eating. The raspberries and blackberries are blooming nicely. (Unless last night’s thunderstorm got the blossoms. No time to check today.) We aren’t sure if the white currant cuttings we had from my mother-in-law have taken or not, but in any case they haven’t bloomed. I haven’t checked the cranberries lately either; must do that soon.

We have discovered one disappointment. Here in Germany, it is traditional for a farmhouse to have a “house tree”, a tree that sits close to the house and is a place for the family to sit or gather. We decided we wanted a rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia). Apart from the fact that they simply look nice, their fruit tempts birds away from the other things and, of course, there are the alleged protective properties. When we were here before Easter to do a bit of renovating, we stopped by a nursery and bought one. Or so we thought. Alas, it has turned out to be a Swedish Whitebeam or Swedish Mountain Ash (Sorbus intermediara, I think). Now, it’s a nice tree and unlike the rowan the fruit is edible, but it just isn’t the same. The leaves aren’t divided and the fruit is orange instead of red. Oh, well. We have a rowan just over the fence. Maybe we can get some cuttings or a seedling in the fall.

Real life has kept me from writing much the last few weeks. Business has started picking up again, and most of my free time has been spent either working in the garden or unpacking and organizing. (We finally found the pins for the bookshelves, which brings unpacking a BIG step forward.) Add to that the fact that we are picking up some of the rhythms of country living, getting up much earlier and going to bed much earlier too, and by the time the dinner dishes are done I haven’t got the energy or focus to write much.

Turns out the old farmer’s rules have something to them. Shortly after my last entry, we had an overnight freeze that did in all of our tomato plants, down to the last seedling. According to one of the neighbors, a big freeze also got the plums (we have two trees) and the cherries (also two, but there seem to be a few there). Fortunately, the apples seem to have taken, the blueberries have blossomed nicely and are showing fruit, the gooseberries likewise. It’s still too early for the blackberries and raspberries. And we have discovered that we have several cranberry bushes.

The weather seems to have finally taken a turn towards summer, though it is still pretty rainy and evenings are still cool. The mayflowers are pretty much over and the dandelions have all gone to seed. They have been replaced by buttercups, ajuga, some variety of veronica, and daisies. The field mint is also blooming.

The garden that it was too late to do anything with has turned into a major project. After the tomatoes died, one of the neighbors offered us a “few” of her leftover seed potatoes. We thanked her and took them; a “few” was something like 200. We gave some to my sister-in-law and her husband, but I still wound up hacking out several square meters of grass and wild flowers. There were some potatoes left over, but we will plant those elsewhere in the hope of driving out the infestations of bishop’s weed; it seems that potatoes are one of the few things that can keep the stuff under control (woodruff being another). We also dedicated a couple of rows to strawberries that we transplanted from elsewhere in the garden, interspersed with garlic. Meanwhile, the friend who gave us the first tomatoes has offered us some new plants, and we still want to make room for one or two other things, maybe beans and corn (too late for peas now).

I figure, if I can manage to clear a row a day, we should have enough by the beginning of next week. It’s quite a workout, but now I can actually move the day after working the garden. And, although the scale says I haven’t lost any weight, I seem to be having difficulty keeping my pants up.

Birds: along with the same boring assortment of blackbirds, magpies, and blue tits that we had back in the city, we have an abundance of swallows and a number of crows. I saw the kite today for the first time in a week or so. We had a black redstart that was visiting one of our drainpipes regularly, but he has also disappeared. There is a goldfinch that comes by now and then and a jay. On a walk with the dog recently, I saw a wagtail (not on the dog, that’s a bird) and yesterday evening I heard a cuckoo calling.

“Work expands to fill the time allotted,” or so they say. Somehow I had the impression that it was too late to do much with the garden this year. I finished the second row yesterday, started a second for the strawberries that are growing here and there in the old vegetable patch, and now find myself committed to hoeing out at least three or four more for the potatoes our neighbor kindly gave us and some corn (maize for our European friends) and beans.

So, I learned a few things as well. Turves are interesting, but alas not so good when creating rows for planting. Too much soil is lost. Now I have to hack up my blocks of sod and try to get most of the dirt back into the ground. The rest will be composted or we may build a raised bed.

I learned my first bit of farmers’ rules of thumb/almanac information. They have here what are know as the Eisheiligen (the ice saints), a series of four saint’s days where you can still reckon with frost overnight. The last is die kalte Sophie (cold Sophie) on May 15. One is not supposed to put out cold-sensitive young plants before then. There may be something to this; we have had some really cold nights (days, too) and it may even freeze tonight or tomorrow.

Obviously, these Bauernregeln go back quite a way (as is shown by the use of saint’s days in an area that has been staunchly Protestant since the days of Luther). Surely, the ancients must have had rules and guidelines, probably with some sort of poetic form to make them easier to remember. A handful are preserved in Hesiod, of course, and there may be a couple more in Xenophon, though I’m not sure about that. There are quite a few Roman agricultural writers: Cato, Vergil, several later authors I’m too lazy to look up. Apart from some of the Georgics several years ago, I haven’t read any of those, but I’m sure they also contain such valuable tips.

And yet, there was probably so much more that was never written down at all or, if it was, has been lost. I’m sure there were many popular sayings about when to plant and when to plow or any number of other things (not all agricultural) that no one ever wrote down because they were things that “everybody knows”. Now no one knows them, nor will they ever again.