bits and bobbins

my father in law passed away a week ago today. lymphoma, that voracious, insidious bastard of a cancer, finally took him to the other side. he was a strong man, spiritually and physically. he was gregarious, humble, hilarious, and loving. he will be so missed by so many. he was very religious (a devout catholic), very active in service to his church, a member of many religious service organizations, and was a salesman for du pont for over 40 years. he was a graduate of duke, a former football player, runner, and a very avid fisherman. he had touched so many people’s lives in his 64 years, and made a friend of nearly every person he met. literally hundreds of people came to his vigil and funeral this past weekend. it was both overwhelming and breathtaking.

peter, poppy and i were in florida for vacation starting june 18th. the day we got here, we got a call from his mother saying dad was nearing the end, so we drove from orlando to jacksonville (where he and my mother in law have their home) to be with him in the hospital CCU in final hours before he died. i was only able to see him for a few minutes (i took care of poppy while peter and his siblings spent time with their dad), but i’ll never forget our last conversation:

“i’ve always thought of you as one of my daughters…”

and i held his hand and responded, “i know. i have always felt that.”
and it was true. he always did treat me like one of his daughters. he always went out of his way to make sure i was treated like one of the family.

rip, peter a. royal.
you were the best father in law in the world. i was lucky to have known you.
we love you, and miss you.

little p, of course. irreplaceable, she is.

and the fresh strawberries we picked yesterday, at a farm in shelton, ct. indescribable, they are.

i’m gardening again this year, in my patio container garden, and things are coming along great. this year we’ve implemented the SFG system and built a couple of narrow 6′ x 1′ boxes and have utilized the existent apartment boxes, our half barrel containers, and various smaller pots, and are growing:

6 bush tomato plants, one purple eggplant, one white “ghostbuster” eggplant, chard from seed, radishes from seed, basil, mint, lavender, dill, purple and white onions, cabbage, cauliflower, snow peas, bush beans, chives, kale, rosemary, oregano, lemon and german thyme, sweet pepper, and…i am sure i’m forgetting something! hopefully my onions will be done soon and i can get some cukes in.

we had red leaf lettuce and romaine but i just hacked it down last week and ate it. YUM.

just like last year, things are coming along great. no massive failures…yet! seems some caterpillars have taken a liking to the cabbages, but no big deal; they were a springtime experiment; i wanted to grow something a little different and i tried a few. probably won’t try them again. live, garden, learn.

as alluded to in previous posts, we also joined a community garden here in greenwich, the armstrong court community garden, which resides next to a small stream directly behind a public housing complex here in the city. we’ve been working on the garden most weekends for the past month and a half, and things are coming along great! in our plot at armstrong we’re growing tomatoes (various types, including some cherry varieties), sweet and hot peppers, a tomatillo, bush beans, chard, romaine lettuce, celery, and yellow straightneck squash.

pete and poppy come over and help me with the garden, and it’s really a family project! we’re having so much fun and it’s nice to get out and do something together and meet people. the other gardeners are so nice and helpful and everyone really pitches in and makes the garden look great, keeping it maintained and growing strong. and holy moly, the garden as a whole is kicking butt. we had several weeks of rain, followed by a couple weeks with some heat and everything is looking really happy! can’t wait to see what it all looks like once summer is in full swing.

our tummies are sure to be really really happy come july and august! i totally want to make buckets full of preserved tomatoes and tomato products (sauce, salsas, stewed tomatoes, and the like), and if our tomatoes are successful (at home and at the plot), we’re likely to be inundated with tomatoes and quite busy at the end of the season! hahaha. here’s hoping!

what are you growing this year?
what do you plan to do with your harvest?