I Got Mail

I participated again this year in the 7th Annual Canadian Autumn Seed Exchange, hosted by Nicky North in Ontario.  My return package arrived in yesterday's mail.  

Here are the goodies I found inside:

Herbs/Misc

Basil “Persian”
Comfrey
Dill “Aroma”
Fennel
Lemon Balm
Parsley “Curly Green”
Tobacco 

Flowers
Calendula “Candyman”
Dahlia “Rigoletto Mix”
Pansy “Springtime Cassis”
Poppy “Single Grape”
Poppy “Venus Salmon Rose”
Sunflower “Citrus”
Sunflower “Peach Passion”
Sunflower “Mammoth Russian”
Zinnia “Carousel”
Zinnia “Illumination”

Illumination Zinnia - rareseeds.com

Beans (bush)

Concador
Flageolet
Purple Dove
Thibodeau du Comte Beauce

Beans (pole)

Good Mother Stallard
Hidatsa Shield Figure
Lazy Housewife

Good Mother Stallard - seedsavers.org

Carrots

Touchon
YaYa

Greens

Cabbage “Brunswick”
Celery “Tango”
Kale “Russian Red”
Lettuce “Galisse”
Lettuce “Grand Rapids”
Lettuce “Lolla Rossa”
Lettuce “Sherwood”
Spinach “Giant Winter”

Galisse Lettuce - adaptiveseeds.com

Leeks

German Striesen
Monstrous Carentan

Peas

Desiree Blauschokker
Sugar Snap

Desiree Blauschokker - rareseeds.com

Pumpkins
Cheyenne Bush
Hooligan

Squash
Delicata
Sweet Dumpling
Zucchini “Benning Green Tint” and  “White Pattypan” mix
Zucchini “Prolific Straight Neck”

Sweet Dumpling Squash - rareseeds.com

Tomatoes

Anna Russian
Big Green Dwarf
Black Plum Paste
Bush Beefsteak
Cherokee Green
Dotson’s Lebanese Heart
Dwarf Rosa Vetrov (“Wind Rose”)
Eva Purple Ball
Green Envy (hybrid)
Malakhitovaya Shkatulka  (“Malachite Box”)
Nyagous
Post Office Spoonful
Romeo
Russian Rose

Rutgers

San Marzano

Tasmanian Chocolate

Work Release Paste

Yablonka Rossii (“Russian Apple Tree”)

Zena’s Gift

Malakhitovaya Shkatulka Tomato - rareseeds.com

Pumpkin and Snow

Winter is here!  It seemed as though someone flicked a cosmic switch November 1st.  Temperatures dropped and the snow started to fall.  Fortunately, it has been mainly light, dry snow.  Only one big dump of heavy, wet stuff.  That bunch came in mid-October and had melted in a week's time.

Up until today, we had been shoveling it.  This morning, R. broke out the snowblower to clear the driveway and to create trails around the sides on the house.  With the trails around the house, we can access the compost bins and the cats have somewhere to walk when they venture out for their 2 minutes of cold, fresh air.

It is -15 this morning and there is a snowfall warning in effect for today.  According to the Environment Canada site, a snowfall warning is issued in this region "when 10 to 15 cm or more of snow falls within 12 hours or less"  It is good to have the heads-up, but even after almost 20 years here, it still makes me raise an eyebrow.  It hardly compares to the blizzards and freezing rain that were - and I assume still are - a given in the Maritimes during the winter months.  Then again, nothing gets shut down here (including the schools) when there is heavy snow or it is cold enough to freeze your eyebrows off, so I guess frequent weather warnings are appropriate.  Better safe than sorry.

Taken from the front step:

Around the side of the house:

This is our set-up on the front step for the stray cat who often comes by.  Heated water bowl, heated pad in the pink insulation shelter, and the little cedar house R. recently bought behind it.  The cat hasn't discovered the cedar house yet, but we'll move the heated pad into it once he does.

Earlier this month, I processed one of the Galeux D'Eysines squash (also called, "Peanut Pumpkin").  I washed and dried the seeds; there will be plenty to share and lots for me to grow next year.  

I roasted the pumpkin halves in the oven.  This worked well, but I was shocked at how much water came out of them!  

The resulting puree (done in a food processor) was sweet and smooth and was a beautiful, rich colour.  I should have measured how much puree that one pumpkin produced.  I know it was at least 7 cups.  

I used some to make a loaf called, "Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread".  It smelled nice (I added cranberries to the recipe), but I won't partake.  White flour in baked goods - at least, homemade baked goods - leaves me feeling ill.  :(  So R. will eat what he wants of it, and the rest will be shared with the fellows at his gaming club.

  Next, French Pumpkin Soup!