Country Garden

Last Saturday was warm and sunny. I know I say that often enough, but it seems that when we get warm and sunny here in Bremen, wet and gray soon follows and then warm and sunny is suddenly a faded memory. So you understand why when we get the warm and sunny part, we head out-of-doors! Saturday, it was a bike trip to the area of Elsfleth, about 25 k from here - so a relatively easy 50 k round trip.

We'd heard about this private garden that is open to visitors in the summer. And they sell a few plants as well. It is just far enough to be a good trip but not tooo far. So after the morning market, off we went.

Along the way we saw a "structure" in the fields. What in the world? It reminded me of a high school football stadium, but as we got closer, I recognized it - it'll be the framework for a solar array. Out in cow country. Very cool and very green.

And we saw cows,too. They're happy to be out in the pastures after a long winter indoors. The folks in the background are happy to be outdoors, too - cooling their toes in the stream. On a warmer day, they'd for sure be swimming.

Just before arriving at the garden we ran into a Floh Markt - Flea Market! Gotta stop. Don't gotta buy. This place was chock full of nothing that we wanted, but it interesting to look at anyway.

Finally to the garden. It's a perennial garden arranged around a wonderfully restored and maintained farmhouse. It's still a bit early to see all of what's in bloom, but we had more than an impression of the wonders of it - hostas and columbine and peonies and roses and so many other plants I recognize but can't name. It is clearly a labor of love.

After some coffee and Butterkuchen we headed back home. The view of Vegesack from the other side of the Weser is lovely and, to my eye, always welcoming.

And perhaps because it was such a lovely day, and the weekend, and it's a tourist area, we saw something new to us, someone on a horse-drawn tour of the harbor. I wonder if I need to try that someday!

Gardens

Crissy posted a photo  a couple of weeks ago of Dylan proudly standing by the raised garden that she and Daddy put together. Isn't it pretty?  Everyone gets the garden bug sometime!

 
They might have a little trouble with the watermelon on the left though - they tend to get exuberant.

Michelle specializes - hanging tomatoes.  And she's really good at it!

I don't think I can claim any influence on their gardening bug, though I did try to do gardens now and again in Tallahassee.  Weeding was no fun in the H O T, though I do remember wonderful cantaloupe one year and growing okra to let it dry for the ornamental pods. They were taller than me!  Of course the cucumbers went crazy and cauliflower was not a great success and the asparagus never really took off. But tomatoes were usually pretty reliable. Oh, and I remember losing all my homemade tomato sauce from the homegrown tomatoes to the hurricane one year. 

It doesn't work so well for me here in my Germany, gardening that is, though folks here are crazy about their gardens!  There are gardening "clubs" all over town and at least four within walking distance of the house.  You can rent a plot and then plant whatever you like.  Some folks are intensive veggie/fruit gardeners, others go for the flowers.

I am limited.  Severely.  We just don't have much space and so often we are gone in the summer when I could enjoy our meager harvest.

But this year our summer vacation is in early June, and since warm weather arrived sooooo late, I'm just now getting my vegetable planted.

Squash.  Three seedlings. That's it.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Love Bird

See the pigeon?  He's there on the lower step. Not an ordinary pigeon, mind you, but fancy, with long feathers on his feet and a tail that other pigeons would envy.

I noticed him from the bedroom window when I got up - something out of the ordinary always catches your eye, it seems.  Some years ago, a racing pigeon got disoriented and lighted on the back wall and wouldn't leave.  I though this might be such a pigeon too.  

Werner, go take care of it!  He did.  He shooed the bird away but it just waited on the roof for a bit.  Seems it had a thing for the concrete pelican!  Werner had to bring the pelican inside to make the pigeon leave!

Talk about a bird brain!

Small Pleasures

This is the summer that wasn't, here in north Germany.  Never hot.  Often wet.  Always cool.  Sometimes COLD!  I won't ever forget turning on the heat in July.  Good grief.

But, with the hope of the hopeless, I planted a couple of tomato seeds in the spring, and they grew.  But ever so slowly.  We have our FIRST ripe little tomato.  I'm going to pick it tomorrow.

And I simply cannot help thinking of Michelle's HUNDREDS of tomatoes from her single plant last summer.  I can only dream.  

Altweiber Sommer

aka:  Indian Summer

Altweiber means old woman but don't take it personally ladies - it just refers to the last days of summer, late in the life of summer and so, old. 

Yesterday and today were such days and we hope to enjoy more of these Altweiber days before they go away for real, and not show up again for the months of gray and wet (that maybe should be called old man winter - oh, it is!). 

One simply has to get out, and we do - along with about 95% of the population here and about - it gets crowded on the bike paths!!  After a lovely and typical German breakfast (rolls, boiled egg, sliced cold hams, liverwurst, and jams - y u m!) we outfitted the bikes and ourselves.  It's sunny, but not exactly warm - lower- to mid-60s - so a sweater or fleece jacket for us folks though we saw some more adventurous types wearing less.

There were lots of fall sights along our route today.  Just outside our driveway, the old beech is changing colors.

.... and rose hips are bright red and ready for picking,

... and hay is drying in the field, waiting to be stored,

... and lots of mushrooms are still available to pick in the forest, but DO NOT eat these - they'll make you crazy, 

... and a butterfly enjoying the asters,

 

... and the brilliant creepers, though only for a week or less - then the leaves fall all at once to the ground and all that's left are the naked stems!

... and somehow or another someone lost a heart along the bike path. Sad.

... and since EVERYONE is out and about, we get to run into folks we know and stop and chat and talk about how wonderful the weather is! 

Spring Work

Our Christmas gift to Rima was time and money - donated time to clean up and tidy up in the yard of their new place, and money for plants and such. Time was of course the more precious commodity!

We'd planned to do it three weeks ago, but the weather was cold and nasty, so that made no sense. Then there was our trip to England and Easter, so finally we got there this week even though my sprained foot was a bit of a bummer.

There was lots to do. Trim trees of dead branches. Fill in empty spots. Weed, weed, weed. Plant seeds. And plant an herb spiral.

Herb spiral? You betcha!

I brought bits I'd culled from my own little herb patch and there we collected rocks from the neighboring fields.

Here's the beginning.

And here's the end. At the top is rosemary; further down is oregano, thyme, basil, and mint. We planted dill and cilantro seeds and Rima's in charge of buying a sage plant. We were really pleased with the result and thank goodness the new owners were, too! I wish I had place enough for one myself, but I'll just have to keep with what I have.

Poor Amina had to entertain herself most of the time. Here she's adding eyes to Opa's Easter Bunny.




When we got home, there was lots of watering to do since it has remained sunny and D R Y. But that means too that everything is blooming like crazy. I cut these lilacs to put on the dining table. I bet you can smell them from here. Just heavenly.

Assorted KetchUp

I feel busy and not-busy, distracted and concentrated, lazy and - back to the beginning - busy. All at the same time and not. Do you understand that? Neither do I.

Of course, I think I am like everyone else and that everyone else is just like me so of course you understand. On the other hand, I often find that I am out standing in my field, and that I am all alone.

If you can't figure that out, it's OK. Werner and I can't either - and I'm writing it! . Here's the KetchUp.

Art KetchUp

Last weekend we made a side trip to Delmenhorst. We have biked there before - it's only 20K or so from here, but because it is cold and seemingly always threatening rain these days, we took the car. There's an exhibit of works from German Art Nouveau in the small city museum - always a pleasant diversion.

Here's Werner checking out one of the paintings.

And here is evidence that needlepoint has been around as a decorative element for some time (of course, much loner than this). I don't see needlepoint in museums often, and though I'm not tempted to recreate this pattern, it was nevertheless confirming to see that artists who create paintings also have inclinations to make our daily lives more ... artful. And that was the whole point of the exhibition.

Spring KetchUp

After the cultural refreshment, we took in some natural refreshment - and though it is still cold and wet (I did say that already, didn't I?) there's evidence that spring is coming. Color is so welcome and in the local park there were these snowdrops.

Then of course it was time for - what else - Kaffee und Kuchen. We found a local café and after a bit of refreshment we headed home to ---

Food KetchUp

We haven't stopped eating. We're in pause mode regarding dinners out at friends' but have had some pretty interesting dinners at home: Sauerkraut with Pinkel and boiled potatoes (don't knock it till you've tried it), tomato and fennel sauce with pasta (one of my absolute favorites) and the other day it was Tuscan white bean soup with kale.

I had to start this dish immediately after breakfast so the beans could be cooked soft before we went off to classes and such. When we got back we added the rest of the ingredients and had this wonderful - really tasty - dish for dinner. For a cool spring evening, I can't imagine much of anything that could taste better. A salad, some crusty bread, oh my oh my. Believe me, the time is worth it. And of course you make A LOT so there are left overs so you don't have to cook the next day! How great is that? The recipe is here, and you should really do it. Really.

Word of warning: I didn't EXACTLY follow the recipe. What else is new? I had some great local smoked bacon, so didn't need the pancetta. I used only kale and no escarole. I used fresh tomatoes because I had them and I didn't have celery but I put in more parsley. Doesn't matter, it was still wonderful.

Project KetchUp

We need more projects? No, but there was an auction the other week and I found these orphans. They needed a home. And I thought they'd like it here with us.

Like all the other things I've adopted over the years, they need some attention and work and a little love. They'll get a good work over from Werner and I already have new covers for them in my mind. They might have to wait a while though. But I think they've already waited a good many years and maybe they are patient enough to wait for me.

Artificial and Natural
and vice versa

We've been really busy. There's so much to do before leaving for 2+ weeks and - AND - we don't want things waiting to be done when we get back here with two kids in tow! So, we've done some painting, I've (almost) finished the new stuff for the bedroom that Hunter and Hannah will occupy (a later blog post on that), we've again cleaned up the plants and linden trees and the deck and terrace and stuff. For such a small space, it seems to take a lot of time.

I've been nursing a boxwood since we moved here. It was a sprout that came up unexpectedly but for all that - because of that - welcome.

It grew and was happy but then we re-did the back. It was uprooted and moved and re-potted and moved and moved again. It's been in the same place now for a couple of years and seems to be really settling in. It's put out a lot of new growth and the topiary I had earlier envisioned is becoming .....

a PELICAN!

But that is the artificial stuff. There's the natural stuff as well. It's not unrelated - the boxwood started without any help from me. So did the foxglove.


It seeded itself between the rocks in the hard dry soil and just comes up and flowers all on its own. Wow. That's a wow.