14th February 2010
Picking up my 'new' composter from a man this afternoon. I thought I had tomatoes.. he has 600 varieties of tomatoes.. SWEET! Some of his are hybrid, but he also has alot of heirloom as well. So we will talk 'tomatoes' when I get there.

Last summer I asked  SCA acquaintances of mine to make me a French Butter Bell as they are potters. So after 15+ years of wanting one, I finally got one of my own handmade by people I know, so it makes it even more special.
 

I asked Irk to make me one to hold about a pound of butter. These really neat butter dishes have the butter on one side of it, and it then sits upside down inside the other larger section which is half full of water. This creates a seal. The butter will stay good for a month or so in this dish with no refrigeration, yet the butter stays soft and spreadable.

 

I also cleaned up last summer/fall's swishy apples yesterday. I like to pick up fallen fruit as well as the leaves and dispose of them in order to prevent many diseases in the fruit trees such as Fire Blight, Scab and other problems. I tend not to even compost the fruit especially when they have been down as long as these have. I had around a hundred-plus apples to put into my bin for recycling to pick up. I found the best way to pick these up since they disintergrated the second you touched them was with... the doggie pooper scooper!!!

It has just poured rain all day so far, so I am glad I got some outdoor stuff done yesterday. Today is back to putting away more stuff. I woke up with a sore throat this morning so I am trying to rest a little. I am also housesitting my new neighbor's house while they are gone for the weekend.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!