West Bethel Aug. 5
Normal summer weather seems to be in force for now, without the excessive heat and humidity. But you know what they say: if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.
Mike and I drove out to the Mud City Road in the National Forest on Sunday morning, hoping to find some blackberries. A climb to the top of a mountain ended in seeing many blackberry bushes. The bad news is that there were no ripe berries. However, very close to the Garden of Eden, there are plenty, which will have been made into jam by the time you read this.
On the drive down the forest road, we were dismayed to see whole banks stripped clean of vegetation. Some had been seeded, but we couldn’t see the point of removing the soil-holding plants and replacing them with grass seed, which will probably wash away in the first rainfall. Moreover, just about every bit of roadside where lady-slippers grew has been part of this replanting process. I’m sorry, but I resent this greatly. What horticultural wizard came up with this plan?
As I write this, Dave Freiday is putting in the walkway from our driveway to the front door. It’s looking very nice and will be even better when the new grass he’s seeding around it starts to come up. Maybe it will tempt folks to come to the front door. I will have to tape over the non-functioning doorbell button so that people will use the door knocker. I’m told that most visitors will still come to the back door. We’ll see.
The pole beans are coming in steadily, as are the cukes, summer squash, and tomatoes. We pulled up the broccoli and planted more lettuce. Meanwhile, the Brussels sprouts are enlarging every day, toward their fall harvest time. It is a constant battle to keep after the Japanese beetles that are ravaging the pole bean foliage. It seems that their abundance is owing to the mild winter we had, so that the grubs in the lawn didn’t get killed by deep frost before the snow cover came. Drat!
We have been planting hostas all over the place, thanks to the generosity of Lennie Shaw. He has shared with us some of his bounty of several varieties of hosta which he grows in his garden.
John Applin stopped by the other day with a pot of coreopsis for our flower garden. This was by way of saying thank you for my having made a small repair on a sweater for him. Just the words would have been enough, but the plant is much appreciated.
Pauline Applin e-mailed me with the names of other Grange members who have been helping “to sell fleas” at the Grange Flea Market on Fridays and Saturdays. She says that Lorraine Anderson, Elsie Aylward, Ina Grover and Marge Winsor have all worked as sales people. Also, members Dave and Kathy De Gruttola, who happen to be Applins’ neighbors in West Bethel, graciously keep the grounds mowed all summer. The group is small; but, everyone is helpful.
She added that four Grangers attended the 90th birthday reception for long-time Grange member Peggy Blake on July 17 at Franklin Grange in Bryant Pond, where Peggy is a member. It was a wonderful celebration for a very nice lady, with music and dancing, and of course, lots of munchies, including a large cake. In Pauline’s words, “a good time was had by all.
We’re always open to learning of other West Bethel news. Please be in touch with me at dhoeh@megalink.net or 824-2917.