The May Storm

Every Friday night, my sister and I work on getting our parents house ready to sell.  My mom died on May 25 and  my dad didn't make it much longer and he died on November 10th last year.   I just read that June Carter Cash died in May and Johnny died the following September, too.   The elder law attorney warned me this would likely happen.  Once one goes, the other goes soon after.  My parents were married for 48 years, and I don't think they ever got rid of anything in their time together; they both were hoarders.   So on Fridays, I leave my office and head back to Warren to meet up with my sister to sift through almost 50 years of their stuff.  We'd hoped to get the house on the market by June but that's clearly not going to happen as we have just gotten through the upstairs of their 900 sq. ft. house and are now commencing on the basement, which can't be walked through, it's got so much stuff.

It's only fitting that we'd have a huge storm on the 1st anniversary of my mom's death.  My parents house, which was built in a subdivision that sprang up like many did when GM opened the Tech Center in 1956.   I learned as a kid that our subdivision was once part of the Rinke Farm, and our elementary school was named Rinke Elementary.   My mom was a wonderful gardener and the soil was great, however we lived at the end of a gradual decline so when it rained, the water always ran down to our yard and basement.  We spent many hours bailing water out of our basement whenever there was a big rain.   We expected the basement to flood and then that would simplify our housecleaning process - we could just throw everything out.  Oddly, the basement stayed dry.   My sister (who lives a few blocks north in a house on another part of Farmer Rinke's land) had a half foot of water in her basement.  Driving down any Warren street sees a van from flood remediation companies in most everyone's driveway.   But not my parents house - dry as a bone.  Weird.

View from the dam at the lower lake

Here in Ann Arbor, we had the worst flooding I've seen in the almost 20 years I have lived in this house.   Water filled our heat ducts in the basement and almost got to the carpet.  We live on high ground - almost the highest point in our area, so we never flood.  Most of the rest of the subdivision had sump pumps working over time.

Workers trying to divert rain water from the pool at the country club

We drove around and took pictures of it all so we could remember.   Bridgeway was completely washed out as Boyden Creek attempted to become a creek again.

Bridgeway as viewed from Crestline 

The base of Cardiac Hill (famous sledding in winter!)

Our two lakes - Greenook and Bridgeway, were formed in the 20s when a real estate developer dammed Boyden Creek.   There are two spillways in each lake, and they were both almost at the top.  Usually, there's about a 3 ft gap to the water.  

 Boyden Creek had almost reached the top of the Huron River Bridge.  I've never seen it this high.

Boyden Creek runoff 

Here's the view from the path near a place we call "Lane 10".   I think it was supposed to be a road someday, but now it gets storm runoff.

Eagle Bridge

It was the kind of storm my mom would have called to warn me about.  My parents, who watched the news 24/7 like most old people do, were always the first to call about a tornado watch or flood warning.   The weather has been really disappointing this spring...most of moms flowers are not yet in bloom.  I remember last May 25, I picked her a bouquet of rhododendron, roses and flowers from the snowball bush that was at her bedside when it was her time to go.  None of those flowers are in bloom at the old house yet.  There were still blooms on dad's lilac bush, which is really late for lilac.    I've been taking some of her plants home each Friday.   I've got her purple clematis on my mailbox - last year, it was in bloom and so striking that the hospice nurse had to ask me what it was.  This year, there's buds but no flowers yet.   It's been a cold, wet May this year.   Here's to a better June!

Great Lakes Heirloom Seed Trial

This year, I am participating in Slow Food Huron Valley's Great Lakes Heirloom Seed Trial, where SFHV is giving away heirloom seeds in exchange for information about how these particular varieties do in our gardens.  Many of these were sold through Detroit's D.M. Ferry and Co. Seed Annual from as early as 1894. Since I have lots of critters that live in my woods, it's hard for me to grow a garden, so I am having an all container garden.    I'm hoping the deer decide they don't like the sound of their hooves on the brick patio! 

I got six varieties of seeds....they are:

Cucumber
Green Prolific 'Boston'
57 days until maturity
Smooth, bright-green, 5.5-6 x 2.5-3” blunt ended, seldom too large for pickles, slight taper, black spine, very high yields, bears continually if kept picked, popular old reliable small cucumber for pickling, listed by D.M. Ferry in 1880.  Sow seeds directly into garden soil (outside) 6/1-7/1. Trellis planting: sow seeds 6 inches apart, 1/2 inch deep, in rows and thin plants to 12 inches apart. Sprawling
growing method: sow seeds 4" apart in rows 5' apart and thin plants to 8" apart.  Raised bed planting method: Sow seeds 6" apart in rows 16" apart and thin plants to 12" apart. Keep seeds moist until germination. Cucumber plants normally produce for about 1 month. If you want a longer harvest period plant a second succession planting 1 month after the first planting.

Lettuce, leaf
Sanguine Amerliore' Strawberry Cabbage Lettuce'
45 days to maturity
Old French Butterhead variety w/ deep red-brown  mottling clustered toward the pink center of each tongue shaped leaf, retains color, tender texture, excel quality,  intro to the U.S. in 1906 as Strawberry Cabbage Lettuce by C.C. Morse and Co.

Lettuce, leaf 'Grand Rapids'
42-65 days to maturity
Large erect bright light-green heavily frilled and curled  leaves, for greenhouse or field culture, early, holds well, slow bolting, TB disease & rot resistant, for home gardens or greenhouses, MSU
Sow seeds directly into garden soil (outside) 4/1-6/15.

How to Grow Leaf Lettuce (full size) method: sow 3 seeds every 8" in rows 10-12" apart (cover seeds lightly with no more than 1/8" of soil or leave uncovered; tamp soil lightly with hand). Baby leaf method: broadcast sow 60 seeds/ft in a 2-4ft wide band (cover seeds lightly with no more than 1/8" of soil or leave uncovered; tamp soil lightly with hand ). Keep seeds moist until germination! Seeds may be started earlier inside into containers as early
as 3/20 - be sure to provide adequate light!

Pea, garden "Dwarf Gray Sugar'
60 days until maturity

Described by D.M. Ferry & Co. in 1892. Broad pale green 3-4" pods are stringless and free of fiber, well suited for steaming or stir-fry. Beautiful purple bicolored blossoms. Vines grow 24-30" and do not require staking, quite prolific. Edible podded. Sow seeds directly into garden soil (outside) 3/27-4/20, 1 inch apart, 1/2-1 inch deep, in rows 12-18 inches apart. Keep seeds moist until germination. These are dwarf peas and do not need to be trellised

Radish
'Cincinnati Market',
'Long Scarlet'
25-30 days until maturity
Heirloom described in Vilmorin's The Vegetable Garden (1885); now becoming scarce. Deep red radishes are 6" long and tapered (like a carrot). Flesh is tender, crisp, and mild. Medium tops are good for bunching. Sow seeds directly into garden soil (outside) 4/15-8/1, 1 inch apart, 1/2 inches deep, in rows 1' apart. Or, broadcast seeds about 1" apart and thin plants to 2-3" apart. Keep seeds moist until germination.

Bean, pole, snap
Black Seeded
Kentucky Wonder' 84
Kentucky Wonder type with long, large, stringless, fiberless, fleshy pods 6-8" long, 8-10 seeds per pod, good flavor & texture, heirloom from central Ohio.  Original seeds from Tom Knoche's Aunt Marge who maintained this variety for 60 years.  Sow seeds directly in garden soil (outside) 5/15-6/7, 3 inches apart, 1 inch deep, in rows 20-36 inches apart. Keep seeds moist until germination. Support pole bean plants with trellis.

How am I doing?   I haven't planted the cukes or the beans yet - actually, I did plant the beans but my hypertufa planter broke when I tried to move it so I will have to replant them.      I planted the Cincinnati Market radishes with the Strawberry Cabbage lettuce in one planter, but all I see is radishes, no lettuce. 

I planted the Cincinnati Market radishes with the Strawberry Cabbage lettuce on April 10, 2011.  I think those are radish seedlings, 11 days after planting, in the next picture.  At 16 days after planting, the radishes are taking hold - no sign of lettuce - but a critter has burrowed a hole in the right had side of my planter.  On May 1, I think I can barely see some leaves of lettuce in the planter, but I am not sure.  The last picture is today - there may be a few lettuce leaves among the radish plants.  I have more lettuce seeds, so I will plant a planter with just lettuce next.

The peas have been a total delight thus far....I planted them on May 1st, and they have been growing wonderfully.  The bottom picture was taken this morning.   The Grand Rapids lettuce has been interesting - it grows pretty unevenly in it's container.

Spice Rack Challenge June: Mint

Even though this is the Spice Rack Challenge, we often have herbs in our spice rack.  So this month, the challenge ingredient is mint.  Feel free to use it fresh, dried or even as an extract.  My home state of Michigan has a rich and storied mint history, and we have our own mint festival in St. Johns, which is a small town near Lansing.     Since St. Johns is near my inlaws, I may have to pay a visit to this year's festival in August.   I'm inspired by "Minty" the mascot, pictured above.   Aren't you?

So, let's hear about your mint recipes. Start posting June 11, and make sure to have your post up by June 17 to be included in this month's round up.   Post a link in the comments section here and I'll make sure not to miss you!