Kat dancing

Around here, this is known as the 'vacuum cleaner side-step'. Hard to get a pic of the full experience, since I can't move the machine and hold the camera at the same time. Moving the machine towards her is what brings on the dance. But this is close enough. Always brings a chuckle to the chore.

And oh, by the way, I'm still alive and well!

Dill pickle perfection amid smokey skies

Eight quarts from eight pounds of cukes. Just put into jars, cloudy sediment may or may not settle, but is harmless in any event. Mere byproducts of fermentation.

Despite a lot of doubt about the edibility of these over the last couple of weeks, I ate two small ones today and have to say they were the absolute best I've made yet. Now, if I'm still alive and healthy this time tomorrow, I can safely say all those doubts were for nought.

Doubts? Yes -- because this was by far the stinkiest batch I've made yet. First, there was only the smell of freshly-fermenting dills, which was expected. After a week or so, the smell got really strong and really funky, making me wonder what the hell was going on. Last week I dumped the crocks into bowls, strained off the oak leaves, dill, spices and such to throw away, then put the pickles and brine back into the crocks to continue fermenting. I like to let them ferment for 3 full weeks, as it supposedly takes that long for all the good strains of lactobacillus get a chance to develop and grow. And while they taste delicious, the main purpose for me is the probiotic benefit.

I'd reached out to the folks at the Wild Fermentation support forum, but not one person responded to my plea for help and answers. Maybe they were afraid they'd be held liable if they told me this was normal and then I died, or got really sick. Mind you, I'm not completely crazy. The smell was never rotten or repulsive, merely really, really strong with something I couldn't place. At any rate -- today was the 3 week mark so I opened up the crocks again, unloaded the garlic and pickles into jars, filled the jars about half-way with brine from the crocks then added fresh brine to the top.

I generally don't do that if I have enough brine for all the jars, but something in me wanted to thin out the smell, which was actually barely noticeable by then. My semi-educated guess is that because this batch started fermenting strong and fast and kept it up for a week, there was simply more yeast byproduct, and that was what I was smelling. Over the last week, I'd decided that the funky smell had a yeasty character to it.

In the meantime, air quality in Eugene has been horrid for the last few days, as shown in these photos by my ever-favorite local photog, Brian Davies. The sun has been blood red every morning when it rises, and the moon has been about the same. Someone told me much of the smoke is coming from a big fire in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness near Brookings, which I find heartbreaking. I won't guarantee the spelling on that -- but it's close and I'm too lazy to look it up.

So that's that. Don't worry about me if I don't check in tomorrow -- doesn't mean death by dill pickles, just that there'll be nothing to write about.

Moon over Oregon

So -- this is what it looked like 30 miles or so north of Eugene this morning. By my usual favorite photog, Brian Davies.

And, while it was cool to watch it through the little glasses, I have to say that the small orange sphere I watched wasn't nearly as interesting as what Brian watched through his telephoto lens. That's a pretty damned awesome shot.

Other than that, pretty dull day.

Gorgeous Dahlia

This beauty has been slowly opening up out in the garden area for days now, and it is always intriguing. It's huge, which isn't really obvious in the photos. Maybe 8 or more inches across.

It's 'owner' says that this dahlia has won many prizes for lots of people. She has also won prizes with it. She has her 'show' dahlias somewhere else, but brought a few new ones into the garden this year, including this one.

It's not quite fully open yet, as you can see. It's tall, so to get this I had to hold the camera up as high as my arms would stretch. She said that on Monday, tomorrow, she is going to cut it and float it in a bowl in the building entryway for all to enjoy. Harder to get photos in there.

Other than that -- just another utterly beautiful day here in the Willamette Valley.

New toy in the kitchen

Latest addition to my kitchen -- been wanting this for a long time. Some of that stuff was in the hall closet, some on top of the fridge, and the rest in lower cabinets.

I like having the things I use often, as well as all the appliances (big KitchenAid mixer under the plastic) out where I don't have to dig to find them.

Went to Home Depot this morning checking on a little garden item, saw this on sale. Went back after lunch to get one. A little taller than I really wanted or needed, but in my research I really didn't find any the size I wanted, and this was a good price. I just had to move the artwork up a little higher on the wall.

Meanwhile, the world as I've known it for 75 years is falling down around all of us.

Late summer in the garden

Not much left in the garden this misty morning. The squash is clearly going gangbusters, there is one eggplant, a few leaves of chard, and all the herbs.

This one eggplant is apparently the only one I'm going to get from this plant. There have been plenty of other blossoms, but they all dropped, for some reason.

After all the hot, dry weather, it's lovely to see mist gathering on the squash leaves. Felt good on my face, too!

It's getting to be dahlia season, too, though barely. These have seen better days, but more plants are starting to bloom and one bud is so huge it looks like it'll be the size of a dinner plate!

What a difference a couple of days make

Hasn't been 48 hours, but this is what the crocks look like this morning. Don't be alarmed -- it's normal!

All that yucky stuff is not mold, it's foam generated by the fermentation process, which creates lots of air bubbles. Sometimes large ones bubble up with a burp, just as often it's bunches of small ones, which make the foam.

Still, I can't stop thinking and wondering if in my fogginess I really added enough salt. Salt keeps the bad bugs, including mold, from growing, although the desirable lacto bacillus that do the fermenting also do a good job with this. They multiply so fast that they simply crowd the bad bugs out. Maybe they eat them, too. I don't remember that tidbit but that's what the salt is for, anyway.

As I understand it, more salt is needed in warmer temps, as all bugs will multiply faster. No need to speed up the fermentation, either, because these will sit a full 3 weeks to allow for best probiotic development. So I've read, anyway.

Thinking thus, I skimmed the scum off, removed about a cup of liquid from each, and added back a more concentrated salt brine, just to be sure and so I'll feel better. I also moved the weight from the left crock and added it to the other. I only have one saucer, and that will hold the pickles below the surface of the brine by itself. A few were trying to float to the top, and one small one had fully escaped. So -- both weights will keep them under control. And keep the mold away.

They're starting to smell good, like old-fashioned dill pickles, which is just what they are. Yum.

Second day of a cooling trend, which is wonderful. Didn't even have to use the AC yesterday, and certainly won't need to use it for the next few days. I love having the windows open, night and day, so I'm a happy camper.

Dill pickle processing

I haven't made dill pickles since last summer, and 'tis the season.

Fresh cukes at the farmer's market yesterday. Fresh (new crop) garlic at a store today. Some big oak leaves from the tree in the front yard. And the usual suspects: fresh dill fronds, and dill seeds, along with pickling spices.

I decided to do it big while I am doing it, and am using both crocks, making double the amount of delicious dill pickles.

It wasn't the easiest of processes -- my brain is not at its most organized today -- but it all got done.

There were eight full heads of garlic that had to be peeled before I could do anything. In the bowl at the back.

At some point I realized I didn't have enough of one of the basics: unchlorinated water, was also short on pickling spices, which were from last year anyway, and probably didn't have enough sea salt to make the brine.

So, I put the stuff in both crocks, had enough water to mix a brine for one, put the brine in the crock, put it away. Then, I took a look at the pan the oak leaves had soaked in, and saw how much traffic soot had settled to the bottom of the pan. That kind of panicked me, because I don't want petroleum crap in my pickles. So -- I poured off the brine quickly, removed the oak leaves, put them in fresh water to soak and made sure I washed, rinsed and dried both sides of every leaf and no more black stuff came off on my white dishtowel. I didn't see any further soot, so it probably all came off in the initial washing, but I needed to be sure.

Then, off to the market for water and the other things. Whew!

Eight pounds of lovely, organic, freshly-picked pickling cukes, in their crocks.

When I redid the brine I made it a bit less salty. I was following Sandor Katz' recipe and instructions from Wild Fermentation, the bible of such things. For past batches I'd used a good bit more salt, but decided Sandor knows best.

Back to the uncooperative brain, which is tired and hasn't been fed a lot today. That's my only excuse.

So will the brine be salty enough for the warm weather, to keep the bad bugs at bay? I hope so. Keep wondering if I should make up a very dense batch of brine, mostly salt, and add to the crocks. We'll see.

Now, I think it's time to feed the brain and hope it decides to be a bit more responsive.

Getting old sucks!

One month down

Full moon rising over the bay at Jenner, CA. From a kayak.

Today's full moon marks the end of the first month of Vassa, and I find myself among the skeptics who thought I'd never last the month with my minor efforts. But I did.

Surprisingly, it wasn't all that hard. I still get an occasional thought to play a computer game, but only when I'm passing time, waiting for some appointment or some reason when it's not reasonable to start something new.

I've only missed one meditation session, an evening a couple of days ago when fatigue from lack of sleep interfered. I knew I could not even sit on the cushion for those 20 minutes.

What is surprising is how much good the month has done me. Inside, where it counts, I can really feel the difference. Simple observances, but knowing I've made the Vassa pledge seems to give my mind much more reason to stick to all of it and even add a bit more.

With this success behind me, I'll avoid one more thing that's bad for me beginning with this full moon and which, like the computer games, is an obsession. Sugar! This one really needs to happen and will be harder than the games. But, I started a couple of days ago, casually, and today it stops. For the next two months. You can trust me when I say this is going to be tough. I can avoid it easily at home, but if I'm somewhere that it's put in front of me in the form of some delicious food --- that's when it'll be hard. But hard is good, and I'll do it.

The great fire drill escapade

I think the cat has forgiven me. Possibly. At least partially. But it took a good 24 hours. Felines have very long memories and hold grudges as much as some humans do.

But, she hasn't forgiven her short-lived new friend, the cat carrier. Every time she walks near it, she gives it an uncertain look as if daring it to attack her. I've also seen her lie down on the carpet and stretch out to her fullest so her front paws are almost touching it. And I've seen her approach the thing, sniffing, trying to figure out what happened.

It might all have gone better, but when I asked the manager about time on Thursday, all she could say was that it wouldn't happen before 10am but that it could be as late as 5:30pm. The usual fire drills generally come a bit after 10am, so about a quarter til ten I picked the cat up and encouraged her into the carrier, where she went quite willingly. She wasn't quite so happy once I closed the door. Confused.

I gathered the other items (my bag, including my kindle so I could read while I waited), opened the door and went into the hallway where a white paper memo waited at everyone's door. We get lots of these, mostly throw-away, but I always read the subject line and this one was the fire drill. Turns out, the tech had told them it wouldn't happen until 3:30pm! Alas.

Back into the house, where I unlatched the carrier door. Kat tore out with her ears back and ran off to hide somewhere for a moment. For the rest of the day, she watched my every move with suspicion, giving me evil side-eyes anytime I moved, even if she was curled up 'sleeping'. Because I felt bad, I served up her 'dinner' at 2pm -- a yummy, pasty, fish and meat canned food that she loves.

Around 3:15, I picked her up and took her to the carrier -- but she was smarter, now. No way was she walking into that thing, nor could I shove her into it. I had to resort to a trick I used with my last cat. Up-ended the carrier so the door was on top, grabbed the cat by the nape of the neck and lowered her tail first into it. Needless to say, they are never amused at this treatment. But she was in there and the door was closed. Out we went.

Off to the tables under the big oak tree near the garden area, where it was somewhat shady. Temps were around 100F at that point. I put the carrier on a table and sat in front of it, where she could see me. Other people arrived, including another cat in a cool pet 'stroller' and a bird in a cage. The management kindly brought out cold bottled water and cookies for the few of us who hadn't escaped altogether or braved the noise and stayed inside. The test kept being delayed, but Kat stayed wonderfully calm, really. No noise, no panic. At one point I saw her panting, mouth open, so put some water into a little container and dared to open the door and put it inside. She sniffed, but never drank any.

The test kept being delayed, but once it went off it didn't last all that long. Inside with the tech were two staff members. Their plan was to literally run down the hallways, presumably with one staff person unlocking each door and moving on, the tech running inside to check the lights, and the other staff person locking the door behind them. Three floors of this! And somehow, they pulled it off. Not sure how long it lasted, but I was back inside a touch after 4pm, which was perfect.

Kat ran out of the carrier again, and was decidedly miffed at me and very wary of the carrier for the rest of the day. All is more or less forgiven now. I think. By this evening, she was even tentatively playing around the door of the carrier with some favorite toys. But not inside!

Hot!

This would be a good day (week!) to be on the coast with a little fog and a good, cool ocean breeze.

107F yesterday, same due today. 90s for the next 10 days. Fun.

I am grateful for air conditioning, as much as I actually hate AC. I don't like cold air blowing on me, and the thermostat here doesn't seem to be too accurate, but this apartment would be unbearable without it. I'm good with the 90s, but when it hits triple figures, not so much.

Yesterday I dozed off in the afternoon with the AC on, turned as low as I could manage to get the thermostat to cycle on/off. After an hour or so I woke up because it was so cold. I don't know if the AC had been on the entire time, but the house was cold. I turned it off and even with the heat outside, the house didn't reach a temp where I turned it on again for several hours.

Other than that -- life is quiet and a little dull. I've decided that I need to go for a long walk early this morning, before the heat hits. Exercise has been minimal lately -- the gym had gotten so hot for several weeks that I found it pretty unbearable, sometimes feeling woozy from it. Complaints to management didn't help. So I haven't been for awhile. Nor have I been walking. Gotta get out there again.

Tomorrow an hour-long fire drill -- or longer. Whatever it is, not only do I have to vacate the premises, I have to take the cat, because the alarm will be going off the entire time and it would not be fair to her to leave her inside. It's really, really, loud and even during the regular fire drills she freaks out. It's an assault to my ears, and cats have much better/more sensitive hearing than humans.

Preparing for this, I bought a used carrier at Goodwill, put it on the floor so she'd get used to it. Surprisingly, she loves it! Sometimes goes in and just chills, watching me from inside. Uses her toys to play around it, and leave them there. Will that make it easier to catch her and put her inside with the alarm going off? Probably not. If they'll give me an approximate time, I'll try to get her out before it starts.

Photo of her food dish this morning -- more toys clustered around it than I've seen yet. She brings all her toys in here when playing with them. Often there are 2 or 3 inside the dish. Crossing my fingers that she's lost interest in putting them into the water dish, because that got old. Haven't seen her do that for a day or so, but probably a temporary lull. A little google research told me that cats have safe places, that they tend to put favorite things in the safe places, and that for a cat, food is a primary life concern and thus a safe place. Particularly so with a cat who has ever lived on the streets without regular meals, as this cat did for an unknown time before being taken to the shelter. So, I'll put the toys back in the 'toy box' in the living room, and she'll move them again.