Mission Accomplished

It was 8 long years before I got the call that a plot in my preferred community garden site was available.  I was in Kenya at the time and the phone I was using wasn't very reliable for checking email on a regular basis.  Fortunately I  borrowed a laptop from a young Kenyan friend of mine and it helped me check on and respond to my messages.

The summer of 2019 was my first year at the community plot. I wasn't quick enough to take advantage of the compost and additional soil purchased by the garden committee as I've discovered that most people at the community plots are real keen gardeners. Their gardens are already growing by the time I'm thinking about cleaning the debris and preparing the soil.  Thankfully my garden grew nicely without all the additional amendments.

This year I stayed away from preparing the garden even longer than last year due to Covid 19 and I missed out completely on the soil and compost.  It seems like I wasn't the only one to miss out so I'm not sure who used it all.  I  heard we have a number of new gardeners this year as many of last year's gardeners waited years like I did for a plot.  In the years they were waiting several had moved out of the neighbourhood and they found it simply too hard to visit and work on their gardens on a regular basis so their gardens became quite overgrown.  I bought some manure if I need it but I don't have additional top soil this year. Somehow I seem to have ended up with a lot of potting soil of which I still have lots.

The path leading to the garden shed where all the tools are stored for use by the community gardeners.

We have a nicely kept and well organized gardening tool shed. In the summer of Covid 19-2020, the tools are off limits so as to avoid the potential spread of viruses. We can bring our own tools and we still have access to the two water hoses at either end of the gardens.

I spent a few days last week cleaning out the weeds and also some plants from the garden plot I rent. While the plot isn't really that big it still requires a lot of work to pluck out weeds and plants seeded by the wind, rake all the wood, debris and green debris then dump it all in the garbage containers, and finally, to break up the hardened dirt and plant the seeds.

I'm a very slow worker and take frequent breaks to rest my back.  The plot is a raised bed.  I don't know why they call it raised bed because it is only a few inches above the ground.  Given it's so low and very close to the neighboring plot, a bit of gymnastics are required to hoe, rake and plant.  It is also not a good idea to squat in the garden because then you tamp down the soil and it quickly gets compacted.  If i was younger it would surely be a lot easier but I don't let that deter me.

I felt terrific after finally getting the garden in for another year.   I went back  later in the week to clean up some of the green debris I left on the outer edges. We are supposed to ensure the pathways are kept free of such things.  Fortuitously I finished the planting on Saturday and it rained on Monday and Tuesday.  I  prefer when it rains a few times a month because it really does a garden good.  Much better than watering by hand.

Back at home, my little balcony garden is sprouting various things and I'm looking forward to seeing what grows.

I captured this park view just beyond the garden.
The sun was setting and most people had left for the day. 

The swirly clouds in the sky are rather peaceful and lovely.

Can you make out any shapes in the clouds?

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It's been raining quite heavily again so when that happens I usually crave banana bread or muffins.  This week I was craving banana bread and a friend gave me a recipe to try.  Instead I ended up trying a recipe developed by pastry chef Anna Olson who I've watched on Canadian television for years.

 
Here is her recipe.

 Ingredients

1 ½ - 1 ¾ cups (375-400 g) mashed ripe bananas (3-4 bananas)
6 Tbsp (90 g) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (225 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 g) baking soda
¼ tsp (0.75 g) salt
1 cup (250 mL) chocolate chips or toasted walnut pieces (optional)

Directions 

  Preheat the oven to 325 ºF (160 ºC) and grease a 9-x-5-inch (2L) loaf pan.
2. Whisk the banana, melted butter, granulated and brown sugar together until well-blended. Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the banana mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips or walnut pieces (if using). Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle the top with a little sugar. Bake for about 75 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake for 20 minutes in the tin, then turn it out to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Makes one 9 x 5 loaf.

It was a fairly dense, yet moist loaf, which I liked.

♥♥♥
If you were here with me I'd offer you a slice and a hot tea or coffee out on the patio as long as it wasn't raining :-)

When I did my first taste test I thought it was a bit sweet however it contains far less sugar and fewer eggs than  many other banana bread recipes I've looked at. The bread was even better the next day.
I think I've found a keeper. I believe I have another keeper on my blog somewhere which I will have to search for and try again to compare.
Once I try my friend's recipe, I may actually have 3 great recipes and that will likely be enough.
I've been searching for a great recipe for a long time.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday this week.

Thank you for stopping by.

The Park Was Busy

It was a beautiful sunny day today. One of the first in weeks. I went to the park to visit my community garden plot which I haven't seen since late last summer.  In the meantime, someone plucked some of the weeds in my plot but left them in the garden. Someone also stole my trellises. I believe it was my neighbour who likely volunteered to weed my garden. I know she cannot stand the sunflowers and mine had grown rather tall.  The mess left over the winter was probably bugging her because she and her husband seem very fussy about their garden and anything encroaching on it.   I saw some weather worn trellises in her garden that weren't there last year.  No one else has the same trellises and I can only speculate.  The trellises were not expensive but it is the idea that someone else helped themselves. Not only do I not have trellises but I have to spend time to go to the store and look for more at a time when it is not so easy to get into stores or to find what you want there.

People were sprawled everywhere on the lawn at the park. I've never seen so many people in this small park and my photos don't do justice to the numbers that were there. I also saw signs about the appropriate distance to keep from others and I believe people were following the instructions.  It was early evening and people had seemingly been at the park for the better part of the day with their lunch buckets and their blankets.  Some were just beginning to leave for home.

We have been told we can work in our gardens but we must bring our own tools during the Covid 19 restrictions. I agree with the rule but in truth it inhibited me from getting to the plot sooner.  It means I have to carry everything with me to do the gardening and it can be awkward and heavy. 

While I was there I did see one older gent enter the community garden shed and use the garden tools.  Either he didn't get the memo or he doesn't care. I  also saw him interacting with others in the park who clearly were not his family.  Why the mother let her little girl interact with a stranger who might be picking up the virus and spreading it, is beyond me.  Maybe she  doesn't buy into all the public awareness about social distancing. I know many fall into that category.

I for one do believe there is a virus and though I don't agree with everything that's being said, I am doing my best to avoid direct contact with others. I am also minimizing the things that I touch that have been touched by many other people.  Today I took my own rake. Next time I'll take some other tools and some seeds.

My garden had a number of thing growing in it that I didn't recognize, probably growth as a result of  wind blown seeds. I did my best to clear up a few patches of soil and I hope to return soon and plant a few seeds, including sunflowers.  Last year I was told that I could plant sunflowers as long as they were not super tall.  More than half of the plots had sunflowers growing last year and I do so love the look of them. I've also planted a few sunflowers at my home garden and they are sprouting nicely. A few other things are sprouting but it is too early and probably too cold for some of the seeds (cucumber, peppers) and I planted the tomatoes too early. I'll figure out what to do about it soon.

Some restrictions will be lifted in my province just in time for Mother's Day gatherings. It doesn't make any difference to me but I'm sure it does to many others.

Happy Mother's Day to those of you who are mothers or those of you who have a mother with whom to celebrate. 

Joining in with Skywatch Friday