A-mouse Bouche

The more rain we have, the more frogs we see.  Last week, I saw one wedged between the glass panels on our front door!

I could juuuuust see his eye through a tiny slit. 

I was worried that he wouldn't be able to get out, so I raised the glass.  He still struggled to free himself and left a little bit of froggy debris behind, but was able to successfully hop off.

Claudia, too, proved that she was back to her old self by thoughtfully providing a mouse for our supper.

The rain and cooler temperatures have been amazing...

...but even these optimum temperatures haven't ignited my passion for gardening this year.  I don't feel passion for all of my hobbies all of the time...some I lose complete interest in for years, but I always come back to them eventually.  I've been so consumed with gardening in the past, but this year I feel nothing.  Perfunctorily, I planted seeds in containers and moved them to the empty holes in the row garden, but it seems that I infected them with my apathy.  Germination has been incredibly poor and I've struggled to get even "the givens" (sunflowers, basil, marigolds) to germinate.  Things that have germinated haven't grown much.  Is it the cooler weather?  The substandard soil I was forced to use when my reliable source was out of stock?  My attitude??  Whatever it was, I was nearly ready to give up and accept a weed patch.

Then, a miracle.  The garden...self-seeded.  Two full rows and probably another full row, in sections...all filled with annuals that had grown from last year's fallen seed.

I recognize celosia, and maybe...balsam camellia?  Ageratum?

Whatever it is, I don't care.  Truthfully, I don't even know what's in the rows that I planted myself this year.  I used old plant markers on the labels, and they promptly faded.  I've just been dutifully shoving green things into available spots.  I don't think I'm going to have a big, wild garden this year, even with all spots filled.  It's going to get down into the 40s tonight...in June!  Things just aren't growing well...but I don't care.  There's green, and the green isn't weeds.  Puny flowers make great bud vase bouquets.  And as soon as I get this pesky garden done (within 2 weeks?  I've had to repeatedly plant in order to get a few seedlings), I can forget it and move on to something that I really care about!  Hooray!  

Meanwhile, the perennial garden has filled in beautifully.  I keep thinking of the BEFORE picture:  

Now it's wild!

Wild blackberries/raspberries are ripening...

Every little thing is creeping or flying:

tiger moth

katydid nymph

great spangled fritillary 

Our apple tree is absolutely bursting.  A bumper crop!

Inside, a little baking...

the sandwich loaf I bake every week

cake for a friend

...and a little laziness.

Ahhh...summer!

Have a great week!  

Don't Be Koi...Have a Cupcake.

Even though we've got some green coming up in the garden, it's been too chilly to do much digging. I was gratified to see Clarence recently, though. He made it through the winter without too much trouble, although he's gotten so fat that he can barely balance himself on the fence post. Still, a tiny handout can't hurt much!

Clarence is my garden companion. He's good company, sprawled out on the walkway, watching as I dig. He's always ready to lend a helping paw...well, mostly when he's helping himself to more food!

But I don't mind. Anyway, we haven't spent much time together lately. Mostly I've been paying attention to indoor plants. My succulents made it through the winter without much damage, and my geraniums are fine. I love their leaves!

I've continued to bring in more fresh flowers to arrange in vases around the house...mainly tulips, and sometimes mums...

...and this week, cheerful yellow daisies.

I had a mystery plant growing alongside my geranium, so I pulled it and repotted it in an egg cup. It's very nice for spring!

Next week I must get out in the yard and start clearing away debris. This week, though, I've had time for guilt-free knitting. Regrettably, my latest project is a bit of a bust. I've had the Kissing Koi mitten pattern for a while but didn't feel secure enough in my fair isle abilities to begin it. However, I decided this pattern was just what I needed to get me out of my knitting funk. The fair isle went smoothly. No puckers and no loose gaps, either. As you can see, the front is a koi fish and flowers...

...and the back is a simple diamond pattern, in place so that you won't have long floats of yarn to catch your fingers on. The orange line is my afterthought thumb.

I have very small hands, and for this size the pattern suggests size 1 needles. I decided to use size 0 needles - the smallest I've got - and still, this mitten is oven-mitt big. I've read notes on the pattern that indicate that it runs large...there's a lot of detail to fit! I'm unwilling to frog it and re-knit on size 000 needles, when it still might be a bit too big. I may make it into an oven mitt, or chalk it up to a learning experience, frog it, and use the yarn for something else!

I'm starting on a cardigan, using the snowflake fingering-weight yarn I ordered from England this winter. This is another experimental project. Gauge is 18 sts = 4 inches. Recommended needle size is 7. I had to go up to a size 10 needle to get gauge, and then the fabric is too "open" for comfort. So, throwing caution into the wind, I'm using a size 8 needle (gauge is 22 sts = 4 inches) and knitting a 40" cardigan in hopes that the cardigan will end up being 36". I think it will work! The thought of frogging a fingering-weight cardigan is something I'm unable - or unwilling - to contemplate, so I'm crossing both fingers and toes that my calculations are correct.

I've baked some beautiful loaves this week...

But man cannot live on bread alone. So, I made cupcakes! This was an unusual and last-minute choice. I had picked a double-raspberry chocolate cupcake recipe from Annie's Eats. But, as I stared at the 2 sticks of butter coming to room temperature on the counter, I started feeling guilty. I want to make nice treats for my husband as he's hard at work on his dissertation, but I don't want him to develop coronary heart disease as the result of my attentions. I decided to make several modifications. Instead of making a dense, rich chocolate cake, I found a pudge-free brownie recipe and went to work!

Pudge-Free Double Raspberry Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes (phew!)
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
2 egg whites
3/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
a splash of vanilla

Filling
Raspberry Jam

Icing
4 ounces neufchatel cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup raspberry jam

For the cupcakes, mix together the dry ingredients. If you don't have vital wheat gluten, don't worry about it...but it does help your cupcakes to rise a little higher. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake cupcakes for 18 - 20 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

I was pleased with the rise. The recipe is for brownies, not cupcakes, but adding the egg whites gives it a more cake-like consistency.

After your cupcakes cool, take a paring knife and cut a hole in the middle. See the little triangle you pull out? Cut the bottom part off and feel free to eat it...just to make sure it tastes all right, of course! ;)

Take 1/2 cup raspberry jam and heat it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Stir well, and spoon a bit into the center of your cupcake.

Cover it with the piece you put aside. Voila! You've got filled cupcakes!

To make the frosting, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Because I used fresh raspberries, my frosting wasn't very stiff. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, leave out the fresh raspberries and just use jam. I piped it onto the top of the cupcake without any difficulties.

If you're a chocolate and raspberry fan (like my husband!) you'll love these! There's just a bit of butter and sugar but you've got a chewy, brownie-like cupcake with a double shot of raspberry - the stronger flavored filling, and the lightly-flavored icing. It's a nice balance. Let me just say...Todd's already had three, so I think they've got the stamp of approval! And they're relatively guilt-free.

Enjoy!

Cat and Mouse Games

Even with temperatures still in the 90s, there are definite signs of fall. I've seen a few leaves with deep, rich autumn colors.

My Autumn Sedum burst into bloom, right on time.

Orb weaver spiderwebs are appearing everywhere.

There are some benefits from this unusually long and hot summer. My tomatoes keep producing, and producing, and producing!

I had a "National Geographic" moment recently when I caught this caterpillar preparing to pupate. He carefully attached himself to a fence board with a sticky, silky substance. Within 2 hours, he'd gone from this...

...to this!

Caterpillars shed their skin, or molt, once they are securely attached in their chosen location.

Underneath is the hard shell that will protect them from the elements while they mature.

I decided to hatch one for myself! I put some leaves in a clean jar and covered the opening with plastic wrap, perforated in several areas to allow air flow.

After about a week, the chrysalis turned black, and I worried that the butterfly had died. However, just a few hours later, he emerged...

...leaving behind a dry, empty shell.

It was another buckeye, once of the most common (and beautiful!) butterflies around here. After he'd rested and gathered strength, he was ready for his (her?) maiden flight.

It was truly remarkable to watch this process from beginning to end.

Speaking of butterflies, I saw a strange sight in the garden earlier this week...piles of butterfly wings scattered around the base of a marigold patch.

It wasn't long before I discovered the culprit...a large female mantis, who'd taken refuge amid the tall stalks. It was an ideal location, really...protected on all sides, and with a virtual buffet of bees, butterflies, and moths to feed from.

I spent a lot of time watching her. Mantises are perfectly suited, anatomically speaking, for the task at hand...killing. They have baggy folds beneath their arms, which allow remarkable mobility. They can flash out at lightning speed to capture prey. Excess skin on their long necks...

...allow the twisting motion needed to consume prey efficiently.

Their grasping forearms can hold a bee in place easily. Lacking "fingers," they utilize their ridges and spikes. This bee didn't have a chance.

They really are remarkably efficient, peeling off legs and wings and devouring everything else.

I was really pleased to see this assassin bug in a neighboring marigold patch. They're such interesting creatures.

This Cabbage Looper moth (Trichoplusia ni) rests comfortably on a split tomato.

The Cabbage Looper caterpillar is a nice green color with white stripes. They don't crawl like most caterpillars but move with the scooting, jerky movements of the inchworm.

They are terrible for gardens, but I don't have a lot of vegetables for them to damage. Besides, the moths, close up, are awfully pretty.

This small field mouse found a new friend (ahem) in Clarence.

Not sensing the danger, he burrowed beneath Clarence, whose impassive, half-lidded expression didn't change. Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

I sat silently, and the mouse eventually felt safe enough to venture out. However, he didn't get far.

Still casual, Clarence scooped him up and headed for a more comfortable location, where he could feed at leisure.

He was a little too casual, lazily batting the mouse until, warmed by the sun, he fell asleep. The mouse crept away and hid in a small deposit nearby, briefly, until he felt well enough to make his escape.

All's well that ends well!

I finished a knitting project this week that I really wanted to complete before fall...Hawthorne.

I'm pleased with it. I used Rowan Felted Tweed, which complemented the pattern perfectly.

Now I really can't wait for cooler weather to come!

Because of the heat, I haven't done much baking lately...just some french bread loaves.

They turned out perfectly. There's nothing like a warm slice of bread with a little butter and honey!

Another brief blog hiatus for me...we'll be out of town until the first week of October. Goodbye, blazing sun, and hello, ocean breezes!

Quick disclaimer: In case any criminals are reading...yes, there will be someone in the house while we're gone! :)

We're headed west, for a leisurely road trip down the Oregon and California coasts. This is a trip I've made many times, but I never get tired of it. Plus, we'll get a preview of our new home! Stay tuned for details...and lots of pictures!