our maine home – zone 5b
We have a new cold room! Something we’ve really needed for better conditions for storing grains, apples, onions, potatoes, etc.
Sam drilled a hole in the wall of the pantry right to the outside. And put a sweep under the door. It’s in the 50’s in there now, while the rest of the house is in the 70’s. Nice!
The remnants of Hurricane Ida have reached Maine.
A rainy, chilly weekend. But the side yard looked like a blueberry jungle emerging out of a light mist. The kiwi vine on the arbor is very robust this year too.
A light snow fell off and on all day. It didn’t stick to the ground, but it was caught in innumerable spider webs scattered around the orchard and blueberry meadows.
I’m trying to keep some herbs going indoors this winter. Here they have a lovely snowstorm as a backdrop.
Might be my favorite thing about winter. The stove is a companion. And warms us.
Our stove is the Castine model from Jøtul and it’s perfect for us.
Of course, part of the reason I can love heating with wood is that Sam takes care of all the chores involved with getting a handy supply of ready-to-burn logs.
We enjoyed taking some photos on this frosty morning. Frost is such a marvel.
We mulched most of the beds for winter. The two near the back got a layer of chicken coop waste covered by a layer of straw. The other beds got waterlogged straw, picked up from J&P Farmers Market. And some leftover hay.
The strawberry bed got a light layer of mulch. It really needs the blighted leaves pulled off and more mulch. Maybe later.
What’s left in the garden? A nice patch of leeks, quite a lot of kale, some juvenile broccoli that I don’t have much hope for, and mostly bygone escarole. A row of half-hearted spinach.
It’s definitely getting to be wintry out there.
The first real snowfall of the season, on Election Day.
I’ve been frustrated by spotty germination in the hoophouse. Some things are growing lushly – escarole, spinach, kale, carrots. But others are just not where I’d want them to be at this time of year.
So I planted more seeds today, including in the vacant spaces left by the tomatillo harvest. Mostly spinach, but also some winter lettuce and ice-bred arugula. We’ll see what happens.
Also added some goat manure and watered. A very light snow – maybe sleet – ticked on the cover of the hoophouse while I was working.
New decorative items, gifts from a friend in Connecticut who is downsizing. A wind chime that looks like peacock feather eyes, made of glass, hanging on the right middle brace. And a decorative hanging pot just visible at the top of the photo.
