The Garden Hose as Leaf Blower

During my Thanksgiving hiatus, I decided to start my intial attack on the annual leaf clean-up.  I am blessed to have large, old Sweet Gum trees on and around Crest Avenue - trees that I am sure date back 40 or more years.  These wonderful old trees offer valuable shade in the summer months, helping to keep the house cool.  And helping to keep some money in my pocket that is not otherwise spent on exorbitant air conditioning bills.  In the winter, they act as a windbreak helping to keep the cold, blustery winds of winter at bay.  But all of the good they bring comes with maintenance.  And a large part of that maintenance is the clean up of the leaves they shed each fall.  Fortunately, the town works with the residents in their efforts to keep their yards clean.  Each year, we can rake as many leaves as we can to the area just in front of our houses, but not on the common sidewalk if you happen to have a town owned and maintained sidewalk in front of your house.  On dates scheduled in the newsletter, the town visits each street with their huge leaf vacuum and vacuums up all of the leaves that you mound up in front of your house.

Here is a picture of their leaf vacuum:

You just need to find out from the schedule when they will arrive at your address and make sure you have your leaves raked to the front of the house for collection.  They like for you to do it as close as possible to the day they will be at your address so that the leaves don't blow away into your neighbors yard.

All of this said, every year I start by trying get the leaves off the top of the boxwood along the front sidewalk.  I try using my hand to brush them off.  This works with limited success plus it is very time consuming.  Other years I have gotten out my trusty leaf blower and attempted to blow them off the top of the boxwood.  This too is met with little success.  The stems of the leaves are usually stuck in the boxwood branches so neither of these procedures works well.

This is what I started out with this year.  You will see a small area on the corner in the center of the picture where I started to try and remove the leaves with my hand.  It worked, but I could tell it was going to be a long and arduous tasks.  Plus, I was going to need a pair of gardening gloves because this process would wreak havoc on my hands.  At some point during all of this, I was out front hosing off the front porch and as I was moving around, the hose made a pass over a portion of the boxwoods and in that instant I realized what I should have realized many a fall ago.  Use the water hose as a leaf blower!  You will need one of those small jet hose attachments or a multi-spray hose nozzle with a "jet" setting.  The smaller the stream of water the more forceful and that is what you need for this project.

So I decided to continue with this until they were all cleared.  And, voila  . . .

In hardly any time, the boxwoods were cleared of fallen leaves.  All I need to do now is to check out the latest newsletter and find out when the town will arrive on Crest Avenue with the leaf vacuum.  I guess we all know what I'll be doing this weekend.  ¯Rake, rake, rake.  ¯Rake, rake, rake.  ¯Rake your booo-tie.  ¯Rake your booo-tie!!

The Garden Hose as Leaf Blower

During my Thanksgiving hiatus, I decided to start my intial attack on the annual leaf clean-up.  I am blessed to have large, old Sweet Gum trees on and around Crest Avenue - trees that I am sure date back 40 or more years.  These wonderful old trees offer valuable shade in the summer months, helping to keep the house cool.  And helping to keep some money in my pocket that is not otherwise spent on exorbitant air conditioning bills.  In the winter, they act as a windbreak helping to keep the cold, blustery winds of winter at bay.  But all of the good they bring comes with maintenance.  And a large part of that maintenance is the clean up of the leaves they shed each fall.  Fortunately, the town works with the residents in their efforts to keep their yards clean.  Each year, we can rake as many leaves as we can to the area just in front of our houses, but not on the common sidewalk if you happen to have a town owned and maintained sidewalk in front of your house.  On dates scheduled in the newsletter, the town visits each street with their huge leaf vacuum and vacuums up all of the leaves that you mound up in front of your house.

Here is a picture of their leaf vacuum:

You just need to find out from the schedule when they will arrive at your address and make sure you have your leaves raked to the front of the house for collection.  They like for you to do it as close as possible to the day they will be at your address so that the leaves don't blow away into your neighbors yard.

All of this said, every year I start by trying get the leaves off the top of the boxwood along the front sidewalk.  I try using my hand to brush them off.  This works with limited success plus it is very time consuming.  Other years I have gotten out my trusty leaf blower and attempted to blow them off the top of the boxwood.  This too is met with little success.  The stems of the leaves are usually stuck in the boxwood branches so neither of these procedures works well.

This is what I started out with this year.  You will see a small area on the corner in the center of the picture where I started to try and remove the leaves with my hand.  It worked, but I could tell it was going to be a long and arduous tasks.  Plus, I was going to need a pair of gardening gloves because this process would wreak havoc on my hands.  At some point during all of this, I was out front hosing off the front porch and as I was moving around, the hose made a pass over a portion of the boxwoods and in that instant I realized what I should have realized many a fall ago.  Use the water hose as a leaf blower!  You will need one of those small jet hose attachments or a multi-spray hose nozzle with a "jet" setting.  The smaller the stream of water the more forceful and that is what you need for this project.

So I decided to continue with this until they were all cleared.  And, voila  . . .

In hardly any time, the boxwoods were cleared of fallen leaves.  All I need to do now is to check out the latest newsletter and find out when the town will arrive on Crest Avenue with the leaf vacuum.  I guess we all know what I'll be doing this weekend.  ¯Rake, rake, rake.  ¯Rake, rake, rake.  ¯Rake your booo-tie.  ¯Rake your booo-tie!!

The Thanksgiving Weekend

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone.  This year was a good deal less stressful than previous years.  I actually stayed home this year.  I made a few dishes for our little celebration, but it was nothing near what I normally do.  We ordered a ham this year that was pre-cooked, so that saved an enormous amount of time.  We had scalloped potatoes and sauteed mushrooms with shallots and freshly made parkerhouse rolls.  Before dinner, we had grilled shrimp served with a sweet and sour sauce and an habanero relish.   I made a pumpkin cheesecake which I served with chocolate fig mousse and shaved chocolate for dessert.  It was all magnificent.  We ate around 5:00 and after dinner I spent the remainder of the evening parked in front of the tv watching favorites like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil from 1997 and multiple reruns of Murder, She Wrote from the late 80's.  A wonderful way to end a wonderful day.

But Friday morning came and I decided to get up and get busy.  One of the first orders of business for the day was to feed the birds.

I found this wonderful little suet feeder at Lowe's.  The birds really appreciate the extra care and attention this time of year and on into the coldest months of winter.  This feeder is actually double-sided, so there is another suet cake on the other side.  I primarily use the Garden Treasures brand of suet.  This is easily available to me at my local Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  The blend in this picture is the High-Energy Suet, but there are many different blends from which to choose.  You can choose Orange Suet, Peanut Suet, Green Apple Suet and Woodpecker Suet.  I get quite a variety of birds no matter which I choose to put out.  I keep different flavors on hand in the shed so that I can keep them fed at all times.  Some of you may be asking "what is this suet he is talking about."   Suet, simply defined, is animal fat that has been rendered to form hard cakes or balls.  Suet recipes do not need to be complicated in order to attract a range of hungry birds. However, it should be rendered to help it maintain its shape more easily.

To render suet:

1. Chop the fat into small pieces or run it through a meat grinder. Make sure all traces of meat are removed.
2. Heat the chopped fat on low until it is liquefied. Do not use higher temperatures to melt the suet more quickly, as this could lead to fires or scorching.
3. Strain the liquid fat through cheesecloth or a fine mesh to remove any particles or contaminants. The suet should be strained several times so it is as pure as possible.
4. Pour the fat into molds or containers and allow it to cool. The cakes can be chopped or cut to be fed to the birds.  You may choose to use containers that are the appropriate size to fit a suet feeder such as the one I have above.

Once the suet is rendered, it can be fed to the birds as-is or you can choose to add some ingredients to it to hopefully attract a wider range of birds.

Easy suet recipe:

• 1 Cup rendered suet
• 1 Cup chunky peanut butter
• 3 Cups stone ground cornmeal
• 1/2 Cup white or wheat flour

Melt the suet and peanut butter together until they are smooth and liquid. Add the cornmeal and flour, mixing well. Allow the mixture to cool slightly to thicken, then pour it into molds or containers to use. Refrigerate or freeze suet until it is firm and you are ready to use it.

What You Can Add to Suet

You can add different ingredients to the mixture before it cools to make it more attractive to birds. Some popular ingredients are:

• Chopped, unsalted nuts
• Dried fruit bits
• Birdseed
• Honey
• Kitchen scraps

These are the easiest items to add to simple suet to make it even more tempting for your birds. Take the time to experiment with adding other ingredients to discover what your birds find most appetizing, and you’ll soon have plenty of suet-eaters at your backyard buffet.

The Thanksgiving Weekend

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone.  This year was a good deal less stressful than previous years.  I actually stayed home this year.  I made a few dishes for our little celebration, but it was nothing near what I normally do.  We ordered a ham this year that was pre-cooked, so that saved an enormous amount of time.  We had scalloped potatoes and sauteed mushrooms with shallots and freshly made parkerhouse rolls.  Before dinner, we had grilled shrimp served with a sweet and sour sauce and an habanero relish.   I made a pumpkin cheesecake which I served with chocolate fig mousse and shaved chocolate for dessert.  It was all magnificent.  We ate around 5:00 and after dinner I spent the remainder of the evening parked in front of the tv watching favorites like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil from 1997 and multiple reruns of Murder, She Wrote from the late 80's.  A wonderful way to end a wonderful day.

But Friday morning came and I decided to get up and get busy.  One of the first orders of business for the day was to feed the birds.

I found this wonderful little suet feeder at Lowe's.  The birds really appreciate the extra care and attention this time of year and on into the coldest months of winter.  This feeder is actually double-sided, so there is another suet cake on the other side.  I primarily use the Garden Treasures brand of suet.  This is easily available to me at my local Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  The blend in this picture is the High-Energy Suet, but there are many different blends from which to choose.  You can choose Orange Suet, Peanut Suet, Green Apple Suet and Woodpecker Suet.  I get quite a variety of birds no matter which I choose to put out.  I keep different flavors on hand in the shed so that I can keep them fed at all times.  Some of you may be asking "what is this suet he is talking about."   Suet, simply defined, is animal fat that has been rendered to form hard cakes or balls.  Suet recipes do not need to be complicated in order to attract a range of hungry birds. However, it should be rendered to help it maintain its shape more easily.

To render suet:

1. Chop the fat into small pieces or run it through a meat grinder. Make sure all traces of meat are removed.
2. Heat the chopped fat on low until it is liquefied. Do not use higher temperatures to melt the suet more quickly, as this could lead to fires or scorching.
3. Strain the liquid fat through cheesecloth or a fine mesh to remove any particles or contaminants. The suet should be strained several times so it is as pure as possible.
4. Pour the fat into molds or containers and allow it to cool. The cakes can be chopped or cut to be fed to the birds.  You may choose to use containers that are the appropriate size to fit a suet feeder such as the one I have above.

Once the suet is rendered, it can be fed to the birds as-is or you can choose to add some ingredients to it to hopefully attract a wider range of birds.

Easy suet recipe:

• 1 Cup rendered suet
• 1 Cup chunky peanut butter
• 3 Cups stone ground cornmeal
• 1/2 Cup white or wheat flour

Melt the suet and peanut butter together until they are smooth and liquid. Add the cornmeal and flour, mixing well. Allow the mixture to cool slightly to thicken, then pour it into molds or containers to use. Refrigerate or freeze suet until it is firm and you are ready to use it.

What You Can Add to Suet

You can add different ingredients to the mixture before it cools to make it more attractive to birds. Some popular ingredients are:

• Chopped, unsalted nuts
• Dried fruit bits
• Birdseed
• Honey
• Kitchen scraps

These are the easiest items to add to simple suet to make it even more tempting for your birds. Take the time to experiment with adding other ingredients to discover what your birds find most appetizing, and you’ll soon have plenty of suet-eaters at your backyard buffet.

Mellow Yellow

I took a walk at lunch today.  As I was walking by the Swedish Embassy on K Street, NW in Georgetown, I noticed the leaves on these beautiful trees which had all turned the same shade of yellow.  I don’t know what kind of trees these are, but I thought they were beautiful and decided to share this photo with all of my readers.

We are looking west here with the Washington Harbour business and residential complex in the background.

Mellow Yellow

I took a walk at lunch today.  As I was walking by the Swedish Embassy on K Street, NW in Georgetown, I noticed the leaves on these beautiful trees which had all turned the same shade of yellow.  I don’t know what kind of trees these are, but I thought they were beautiful and decided to share this photo with all of my readers.

We are looking west here with the Washington Harbour business and residential complex in the background.

One final Halloween Post

I promise this will be the last Halloween post this year.  Here is yours truly arriving at Paul and Barbara's for their Halloween Tailgate bash with a big wire bowl full of candy gift bags for the kiddies and a cup of a little something to help keep me warm.

That is Peter in the foreground admiring my handiwork preparing the bags.  They accused me of filling the bags with bourbon and vodka minis and little tubs of caviar.  Hmmm!!  Not a bad idea for next year but only for the over 21 group.

One final Halloween Post

I promise this will be the last Halloween post this year.  Here is yours truly arriving at Paul and Barbara's for their Halloween Tailgate bash with a big wire bowl full of candy gift bags for the kiddies and a cup of a little something to help keep me warm.

That is Peter in the foreground admiring my handiwork preparing the bags.  They accused me of filling the bags with bourbon and vodka minis and little tubs of caviar.  Hmmm!!  Not a bad idea for next year but only for the over 21 group.

Happy Birthday to Me!

As most of you already know, last Friday was my birthday.  Somewhere in the early 50’s birthday, and that’s as far as I’ll go.  It was a really wonderful day and weekend.  The day started off with the delivery of this beautiful floral arrangement and card.  Just the right size.  Not overdone and not just a container of mums.  This is perfection.

You also see a box here from “Baked & Wired” which is a delicious bakery on 31^st Street, NW in Georgetown.  My dear, dear friend Yvonne presented this little box to me on Friday morning.  It contained a carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  There simply aren’t words to describe how delicious it was.  Thank you so much Yvonne.

As for the rest of the day, I was entertained at the Dewey Street address Friday evening.  Festivities began promptly at 7:00 PM.  Guest list included me, Baxter, Steven and Lea.  Lea brought the most delicious guacamole we can remember ever having.  I must follow up with her on that recipe.  Steven served toast points with a lovely brie and chutney and a 2001 Chateau Montelana Chardonnay which was really a treat.  This bottle was from the purchase we made when we visited Napa Valley in 2009.  Some background on the vineyard:

“Chateau Montelena is a Napa Valley winery most famous for winning the white wine section of the historic

"Judgement of Paris" wine competition. Chateau Montelena's Chardonnay was in competition with nine other wines

from France and California under blind tasting. All 11 judges awarded their top scores to either the Chardonnays from

Chateau Montelena or Chalone Winery, another California wine producer. A fictionalized version of Chateau Montelena's historic victory was featured in the 2008 film Bottle Shock.”

As the evening wore on, Steven’s brother, Bob, stopped by to raise a glass with us.  He also stayed for dinner which consisted of lobster tails, steamed broccoli rabe and saffron rice.  After dinner we sat in the living room in front of the fire and I opened gifts and had a glass or two or three of wine and enjoyed lively and spirited conversation for the rest of the evening.  The party ended around 12:30 AM and I had a restful night.

The rest of the weekend was delightful.  I worked in the yard on Saturday, cleaning up leaves and bagging up yard debris and generally cleaning up.  I had eight bags of yard waste for the guys to pick up on Monday morning, so that was a productive day.  Sunday was spent preparing for the upcoming week – laundry, sorting the mail, those sorts of things.  I did spend some time working on the redo of my bedroom closet.  I could have finished that project but for the fact that my brad nailer gun jammed and I still have not figured out what the problem is.  Hopefully I can get that taken care of this week so that I can finish the closet and get my clothes moved back in there.

So that was my birthday this year.  A really wonderful time and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Happy Birthday to Me!

As most of you already know, last Friday was my birthday.  Somewhere in the early 50’s birthday, and that’s as far as I’ll go.  It was a really wonderful day and weekend.  The day started off with the delivery of this beautiful floral arrangement and card.  Just the right size.  Not overdone and not just a container of mums.  This is perfection.

You also see a box here from “Baked & Wired” which is a delicious bakery on 31^st Street, NW in Georgetown.  My dear, dear friend Yvonne presented this little box to me on Friday morning.  It contained a carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  There simply aren’t words to describe how delicious it was.  Thank you so much Yvonne.

As for the rest of the day, I was entertained at the Dewey Street address Friday evening.  Festivities began promptly at 7:00 PM.  Guest list included me, Baxter, Steven and Lea.  Lea brought the most delicious guacamole we can remember ever having.  I must follow up with her on that recipe.  Steven served toast points with a lovely brie and chutney and a 2001 Chateau Montelana Chardonnay which was really a treat.  This bottle was from the purchase we made when we visited Napa Valley in 2009.  Some background on the vineyard:

“Chateau Montelena is a Napa Valley winery most famous for winning the white wine section of the historic

"Judgement of Paris" wine competition. Chateau Montelena's Chardonnay was in competition with nine other wines

from France and California under blind tasting. All 11 judges awarded their top scores to either the Chardonnays from

Chateau Montelena or Chalone Winery, another California wine producer. A fictionalized version of Chateau Montelena's historic victory was featured in the 2008 film Bottle Shock.”

As the evening wore on, Steven’s brother, Bob, stopped by to raise a glass with us.  He also stayed for dinner which consisted of lobster tails, steamed broccoli rabe and saffron rice.  After dinner we sat in the living room in front of the fire and I opened gifts and had a glass or two or three of wine and enjoyed lively and spirited conversation for the rest of the evening.  The party ended around 12:30 AM and I had a restful night.

The rest of the weekend was delightful.  I worked in the yard on Saturday, cleaning up leaves and bagging up yard debris and generally cleaning up.  I had eight bags of yard waste for the guys to pick up on Monday morning, so that was a productive day.  Sunday was spent preparing for the upcoming week – laundry, sorting the mail, those sorts of things.  I did spend some time working on the redo of my bedroom closet.  I could have finished that project but for the fact that my brad nailer gun jammed and I still have not figured out what the problem is.  Hopefully I can get that taken care of this week so that I can finish the closet and get my clothes moved back in there.

So that was my birthday this year.  A really wonderful time and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Martha Releases "Entertaining - A Year of Celebrations"

When I heard that Martha was releasing "Entertaining - A Year of Celebrations" I knew it was a must-have.  I ran an errand during lunch today which landed me at 11 Dupont Circle in downtown Washington.  My errand was a quick stop to drop off a check for two tables for an upcoming event with the National Women's Law Center.  It just so happens that on the first floor of this building there is a "Books-A-Million" bookstore.  I had not been in this store for many, many years so it took me a little while to find my way around.  I finally found the book in the "Baking" section of the store.  I was shocked at the size of it.  It is huge!  10 x 11-1/2 and 432 pages, including the Index.  Pictorially, it is magnificent.  The cover is beautiful, both front and back.  I've only just had a chance to flip through it briefly but the layout seems to have lots and lots of photos for the projects written about.  I believe this will become a classic much like her original "Entertaining."

(This photo taken on the P Street Bridge over the C&O Canal in Georgetown at 1:15 PM, 11/2/11)

I purchased a copy of her original "Entertaining" 30 years ago when she was still relatively unknown.  It was probably 10 years after that purchase that I was sitting with a friend enjoying a pitcher of martinis on the deck, when he turned to me and said, "Have you heard of this woman, . . . Martha Stewart?"  I think I was probably on my second or third martini at the time and my response was something akin to "HEARD of her?!  I want to BE her in my next life!!"  Little did either of us know then of the success Mrs. Stewart would achieve.  A creative force in the domestic arts that to date is unparalleled.

If you can, get a copy of this new book.  I do not think you will be disappointed.

Martha Releases "Entertaining - A Year of Celebrations"

When I heard that Martha was releasing "Entertaining - A Year of Celebrations" I knew it was a must-have.  I ran an errand during lunch today which landed me at 11 Dupont Circle in downtown Washington.  My errand was a quick stop to drop off a check for two tables for an upcoming event with the National Women's Law Center.  It just so happens that on the first floor of this building there is a "Books-A-Million" bookstore.  I had not been in this store for many, many years so it took me a little while to find my way around.  I finally found the book in the "Baking" section of the store.  I was shocked at the size of it.  It is huge!  10 x 11-1/2 and 432 pages, including the Index.  Pictorially, it is magnificent.  The cover is beautiful, both front and back.  I've only just had a chance to flip through it briefly but the layout seems to have lots and lots of photos for the projects written about.  I believe this will become a classic much like her original "Entertaining."

(This photo taken on the P Street Bridge over the C&O Canal in Georgetown at 1:15 PM, 11/2/11)

I purchased a copy of her original "Entertaining" 30 years ago when she was still relatively unknown.  It was probably 10 years after that purchase that I was sitting with a friend enjoying a pitcher of martinis on the deck, when he turned to me and said, "Have you heard of this woman, . . . Martha Stewart?"  I think I was probably on my second or third martini at the time and my response was something akin to "HEARD of her?!  I want to BE her in my next life!!"  Little did either of us know then of the success Mrs. Stewart would achieve.  A creative force in the domestic arts that to date is unparalleled.

If you can, get a copy of this new book.  I do not think you will be disappointed.