Week 13- February 21, 2021

Last August we had a derecho come through Iowa. Many of us would not have known what that was. It was an inland hurricane  - the equivalent of category 2 - that you did not see coming. We had no power for 4 days, at the end of which, Maisie was born. At least that is what we remember now. But last August we learned that our damage in Iowa City did not come close to the damage up the road in Cedar Rapids. This led us to quickly mute our complaints and do what we could to help our neighbors.

I was reminded of that this week as it was cold. Very cold. It seemed like it had been cold for a long time. But we had power, and snowsuits (well, some of us had snowsuits). We have snowshovels and mostly know how to drive when the winter weather is bad. But any complaining is now muted because of the effects of the same weather system south of here, all the way to Mexico. It seems like there is always someone down the road having a worse time, who now needs our help.

So let me not complain. I have decided however that impatience is acceptable.

It warmed up somewhat this week. That meant it warmed to 20 degrees and soon, if we are lucky, 30. 

There were certainly  high spirits in abundance as Julia and I celebrated our anniversary yesterday. To get to do that with our children and grandchildren was something special.

We ventured forth yesterday, going to look for eagles by the spillway north of town. It was sunny and only a little bit cold. 

Maisie does not really know what cold is yet. 

Some people however could not resist making snow angels.

Remarkably, while we saw some eagles, there were not that many. This was probably because the river was frozen once you got a little away from the spillway. There was not as much open water in which to fish.

We did however see....a swan. I cannot remember seeing a swan in the dead of winter.

We still have  a significant snow cover in Iowa. The garden is quiet. Melting has barely begun. Let me just say it has been years since we had to wait this long for that first snowdrop. We will certainly need a few more weeks of pictures to get us to real spring.

Did I mention that there is snow in the forecast for today?

So let us talk gardens and flowers and warmer times.

Last Week the peony had  a convincing win over my favorite, the toad lily. In one more week the competition will get much harder.

The full voting was

The peony advances. The field is almost set. But we still have one more week before the playoffs.

Week #13

Let me say something about how I pick pictures for the contest. 

I know from the beginning that there will be 13 weeks. Since I want to post 5 pictures each week that means 65 pictures. I go through all the pictures in the fall, picking out maybe 75 pictures. I start moving them around, picking out the ones that clearly should be in the contest. That gets me perhaps 60 pictures. There are then about 10-15 pictures in the 'maybe' category. 

I then start balancing the weekly groups, avoiding such things as competitions between cousins. I am continually thinking about pictures that might be in the top 65, or not.

At some point I get to where I am now. It is week #13, and anyone not included this week will not appear.

So I have decided to just be wild and let a few extra compete. Please understand that this group is not just filled with misfits that were ranked out of the top 65. 

That is a very long way of saying that this week you have 8 pictures to consider. Enjoy.

#1  Helen of Troy

 July 18, 2020

This is an Oriental lilium was added to the garden in the fall of 2019. 

2020 was the first year it bloomed. It is a keeper.

#2 Bi colored daylily 

July 25, 2020

#3 Heavenly blue morning glory 

August 25, 2020

I try to grow morning glories on a trellis on our front porch.  It is actually not so easy. There is a trick to grow anything close to the house. As you would want it to be, from the point of view of the house itself, that area is quite dry. The eaves limit the rain from falling right next to the house. You are just not going to grow things easily if they are within several feet of the foundation.

So I grow my morning glories in pots, big pots, which I put next to the foundation.

I actually have a fence in the backyard. I really should grow morning glories back there too. There is a fall blooming clematis on that fence. It would really look good in September with colorful morning glories.

#4 Fall crocuses 

October 10, 2020

I have discussed fall crocuses several times so far in the contest. Some are established in the garden. I bought a bunch this summer, planting them in September. It was a success. They bloomed into November. They really were a pick-me-up as fall closed in.

#5 Crazy Zinnia

 October 18, 2020

At some point I should just write about October. With a late or even average frost there should be much color in the garden that late in the year. Last week you saw toad lilies. There are also annuals. Some may even be at their best late in the year.

Zinnias are great. I have so many packages of zinnia seed at the moment. I could start some of them from seed I suppose by around the first of March.

I tend to plant them late (even as late as July 1) to have the plants fresh in the fall. They also add much needed color.

#6 Japanese Anemones 

October 24, 2020

Japanese anemones are another wonderful fall perennial. This is a late pink crazy one. The variety is probably Prince Henry.

#7 Tulips

 May 16, 2020

These tulips are one of the faithful tulips that come back every year. Many tulips are hybrids that only last a year or two. This pair blooms little late in the season. They can last for a long time if the weather stays cool. They really open way up. Those are little spent aconite flowers in the background.

#8 Orange Iceland poppy

 May 24, 2020

There have been so many pictures of Iceland poppies this year in the contest. I saved this one for last. The colors were really good. Orange fading to red.

Let me know what you think.

Bonus pictures

Helen of Troy 

This picture is from June 20, 2020. I probably planted them a few weeks before.

This coming year I want to plant different colors. I want to learn more about what fertilizer to use to get the best flowering. 

So much still to learn.

This was August 25, 2020, just after the derecho (which happened onAugust 10, 2020). You can see the eave in the picture and maybe understand why the rain does not get to the pots. I have found that pots are easier to water than the ground. Not a major insight I know. 

One can have fun with pictures.

What do you think of this cropping job for this Iceland poppy picture?

Julia's Recipe 

Roasted sausages and mushrooms

Another recipe from the NYT cooking site, for a fast and flavorful dinner. We like the Italian sausages from the Co-op (they make hot or sweet). And we also get link sausages from Mrs. Pavelka. Sometimes we cook them with green and red peppers and onions and serve them with spaghetti. This recipe calls for roasting everything in a hot oven, in a staggered fashion.  

I was cooking for a crowd when I made this so I rounded up on the ingredients. I will list the ingredients here for a more usual dinner for 3 or 4 people. 

The ingredients: 1 lb. (or 4) Italian sausages (hot or sweet or a mixture); 1 lb. mushrooms (mixed types or just cremini); 2 cups arugula; about 1/2 of a loaf of artisanal bread; 7 tablespoons olive oil; 3 tablespoons vinegar (the recipe says red wine vinegar -I used a mixture of white wine and grocery store balsamic); 1 teaspoon smushed garlic plus some salt and pepper. 

I preheated the oven to 450 degrees. 

I washed and cut up the mushrooms and tossed them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a big sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper (say 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper). 

I put the sausages on a silpat lined rimmed baking sheet, poking them with a skewer in 4 or 5 places each. Then I spread the mushrooms around.

When the oven was hot, I put the pan in and baked it for about 20 minutes, peeking in on the pan once or twice and turning the sausages.

The idea is that the sausages will exude some porky juices which will flavor the mushrooms. 

If you have an instant read thermometer, you can test the sausages, looking for more than 165 degrees. I decided I wanted some more browning on the sausages so I took them off the pan after the baking part and sauteed them, turning them over and over, for about 5 more minutes. 

 

While the pan was in the oven, I cut up about 4 cups of artisanal bread. 

After the 20 minutes of roasting, the mushroom were mostly but not entirely cooked. As noted above, I had taken the sausages out to saute them.

I scooted the mushrooms off to one said and added the bread cubes, sprinkling them with a little (1 tablespoon) olive oil. 

Sausage browning. 

Okay we missed a photo opportunity. 

During the last bit of baking time, I made a salad dressing of the vinegar and 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the smushed garlic and some salt and pepper. I mixed it in a little jar and shook it up. 

After about 10 minutes, the bread cubes were toasty. I added 2 cups of arugula and let it roast for maybe a minute.

Then I put everything on a platter, sausages on the bottom, and sprinkled the salad dressing over all. It was delicious.  

Odds and Ends

We went through quite a cold spell.

Here is the tale from the Extension service.

Because we all care about weather, here is February from 7 years ago, in 2014.

While I do not know what happened those few missing days, I do think 2014 was worse.

One year ago we did not really have a snowcover. The snowdrops were right there. This picture is from February 22, 2020.

Christopher had fun with some colors and the snow this week.

We now have some large gems in the front yard.

As we warm up who knows what snow play will produce this week.

The pumpkins are holding their own at this point,  being frozen solid.

Be safe.

And remember...

It will soon be spring.

Philip