Infiltrated

Yes. That IS a squirrel on our balcony screen door. On the garden side.

We came home the other day to the scene of a crime. A freshly baked loaf of French bread (my first time making French bread... and I was SOOO proud of these loaves) on the floor, dismembered, and in crumbs. A partially eaten peach on the table. A knocked over tupperware that had been chewed to bits and the contents eaten out. Our apartment had officially been infiltrated!

And it wasn't hard to tell who the culprit was. He was right there! Still on the balcony. A little too bold and not scared of us at all! When we stepped outside he jumped up several leaps up onto the screen door, over our hanging tomato and up onto the roof out of reach. The jerk!


And worse... the little guy had found some of our tomatoes. Took a few bites and left one just lying there on the floor. I was devastated, as I am sure you can imagine. We stood gravely over the fallen tomato for a few reflective moments, then got back to making dinner with a renewed decision to find ways to deter the squirrel. James thought for a moment, "Since he eaten from our garden... we could probably say we grew him... would it count towards our weight if we ate him?" We all laughed, though definitely we were feeling enough at a loss of what to do next, that the thought definitely seemed to have some merit. At least for a minute or so.

We've been shutting the screen door (which we've liked to keep open for the cross breeze. He can still jump down, but it's harder for him to get back on the roof if the door's not open. Since the squirrel imvasion, we've kept our eyes and ears peeled for signs or sounds of him. He had the guts to show up again (while we were at home!), and James chased him across the roof with a broom. That seems to done something, and for now, the garden seems to be safe...

A Summer Harvest

"Almost any garden, 
if you see it at just the right moment, 
can be confused with paradise." ~ Henry Mitchell

We just recently had our last two peaches. Awh, it was wonderful. We will miss them. There were 43 peaches in all! Can you believe it? From our little tree. Overall, the peaches amounted to just over 6 pounds. There was one day where we harvested 14! They just started falling off the tree... they were SO ripe.

We also harvested the garlic that we had planted around the base of the peach tree. It was small, and hadn't grown that much since we had put it in so late (in the spring instead of late fall). We didn't have any trouble with peach tree borers (which the garlic was supposed to deter), but that also could have been because we were on the third floor balcony in the city. Also, in the picture above, you can see some of our first cherry tomatoes of the season! Fantastic! And many more tomatoes too come...

With all these peaches to harvest, we decided to make a simple peach cobbler. I've included the recipe for the cobbler that James makes so well down below. It's also great with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.


Peach Cobbler

Peaches (4-6)
Oats (about a cup)
Brown Sugar (1/4 cup)
Butter (1/2 stick)
Pinch of Salt
Flour
Dribble of Molasses (optional)

Cut peaches into slices and line the bottom of a bread pan (4x8). In a separate bowl mix together oats, brown sugar, butter (melted), and salt. Add a bit molasses if you want to the mixture for a deeper flavor. Then add a small handful flour slowly, and continue adding until the mixture resembles bread crumbles. Put the mixture on top of the peaches in the bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until peach juices bubble up past the cobbler. Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!