Busy Biking and Bustling in the Backyard

Memorial Day weekend was an industrious time for me, I barely sat still. After spin class on Saturday I went straight out into the garden to plant the new additions from DeBaggio's I'd bought on Friday. On the way home from work I'd also stopped at my old neighbors to pick up a pile of yellow irises that they'd thinned out from their flower beds. So those were planted at home too, as well as putting up trellises for my purple bean hyacinth seeds that had sprouted and were putting out tiny tendrils that poked around blindly in the air trying to find something they could climb. I cleared up and bagged the debris from trimming the hydrangeas out front, went to the dump, got some groceries, and then came back and dug out the pond.

 This won't contain any fish but will instead be a little watering hole for the wildlife. I dug down nearly 2ft, lined the bottom with sand and then double thickness pond liner. I lugged my free stones and rocks, that I'd collected a few weeks before, from the front garden and arranged them around the pond after I'd filled it with water. Covered in grime I drove back out to find pond plants, and came home with only a water lettuce and a water hyacinth. There are few pond plant centers near me, but I'll look further this coming weekend and then resort to buying on line if I have no luck. I have a small pump coming that will 'bubble' the water to prevent mosquitoes laying eggs. I had considered a fountain but thought the water would evaporate faster than just bubbling. I'll post more photos of the pond once it's finished.

 I was going to sell this little bistro set that had been sitting in my spare bedroom for months, but after dragging it outside to take photos, I thought it looked so pretty I've decided to keep it. I finally ran out of steam about 5pm and was in a horizontal position for the rest of the day...
I loaded my bike in the car and after spin class early on Monday morning I rode the Greenway, a 5 mile loop I'd been wanting to explore since I moved to Front Royal. The humidity wasn't too bad and immediately upon leaving the parking lot I was on a cool tree lined trail with Happy Creek bubbling alongside me.

This link is the map of the trail and I started at 'f'. Even riding alongside E.Criser and Rte 340 the traffic wasn't a problem, there was very little, and I could still smell the grass and trees as I cycled along.

Once I'd left the road I was back on a smooth wooded trail, the vehicle noise stooped abruptly and was replaced by an orchestral symphony of birdsong. Chirps, tweets, chirrups and chatters filled the air as the vocalists swooped back and forth in front of me. I passed this wonderful bike sculpture by the late John Urbanski, a marine and sculptor who lived in the town.

And then I was riding alongside the Shenandoah, her waters flowing more smoothly since the recent downpours. Many residents were using the trail also, some walking or exercising dogs, a couple reading books on benches or some just sitting in quiet contemplation. But I was aware that there was no rowdiness or shouting, people seemed to be respecting this quiet space, and those in conversation chattered softly. And everyone I passed smiled or said hello, it was lovely to be constantly smiling as I slowly cycled past my fellow residents.

I passed the boating ramp, fully expecting it to be flooded, but the water was low. People were having brunch at the picnic tables and the fragrance of blooming roses wafted across as I pedaled by.

I rode up a little track I'd spotted previously in the car and discovered the railway line. Note the little ladybug having a rest.

As I left the river and green riverbanks behind me it was all uphill towards town. I spotted a captive dinosaur, inside the fence of the Blue Ridge Technical Center, and then cycled around the Skyline Middle School grounds which back onto the cemetery. And then it was downhill into town.

Across to Main Street with the confederate statue, commemorating lives lost, and the flags lining the street for Memorial Day.

Past Stokes General store and the little house butting up to Happy Creek that burned down a couple of weeks ago. An elderly gentleman had lived there, who got out in time, and I'd heard it was a jealous ex-girlfriend who'd started the blaze! It had been a pretty little house but now was a sad scene, blackened boards and a charred guitar left on the porch. I could still smell the smoke drifting across on the breeze, reminding me of all the house fires I'd helped to extinguish in my firefighting days in England.

The trail then followed Happy Creek, leading me to an arboretum. I was delighted to find this and dismounted to explore further. A mocking bird hopped from branch to branch, warbling, 'Pwetty, pwetty, pwetty!' and then, 'Hurdy, gurdy, gurdy!' Or at least that's what it sounded like to me, and always make me chuckle. A redwing blackbird dashed down along the creek. The grass was still wet from the morning dew as I walked around all the flower beds, excited to see the native plants thriving, milkweed, wild bergamot, black-eyed susan and so many others. I was amazed to even see a Washington hawthorne and a green hawthorne. I've been considering planting a hawthorn in my front garden next year because they remind me of England, so many of the hedgerows there contain these.
There was a bird bath, and water fountains for humans and dogs, plus a notice board containing information on future events along with flower identification and tree care. Benches faced the creek, tempting me to sit a while. But I had a busy day ahead of me and needed to keep going, yet I was so pleased to have found such a well thought out garden space in the town. And I didn't see one piece of litter.

I rode over the creek and within a few minutes I was back at the gym. I'd loved this little loop and hope to ride it after work occasionally when I don't have gardening to attend too. Wishful thinking with my schedule, eh?
After a shower I was back out of the door and driving to Sunflower Cottage Herb Farm, just outside of the town. They grow herbs but I was hoping they might have a few natives also. I'm desperately trying to find the Cardinal flower to plant next to my pond to attract the humming birds. I've always loved seeing this vibrant bloom whenever I've kayaked Lake Frederick.

One of the plastic greenhouses was filled with a sweet citrusy aroma as I entered, from a table filled with Cuban oregano. I ended up buying some of these as I loved their appearance and knew the deers wouldn't even lay the tips of their tongues on the fuzzy leaves. I was walking over towards another greenhouse when 2 familiar figures exited, holding plants. We yelled and waved at each other. It was Sari and Paula from Sustainability Matters. I'm seeing these guys on a regular basis now and once again Sari insisted that I needed to join their group. I really would like to, but this year I have to focus on my garden. Paula tried to persuade me to pick out healthier cuban oregano plants that were in the greenhouse they'd just come from, but I liked mine better, so she pushed a French Tarragon plant in my hands, saying it was a great herb and I had to have one. I took it. I promised to attend their September event in Woodstock and have already signed up for a Toad House Painting workshop in June. I think I'm going to be seeing a lot of these guys, and their garden advice is priceless.

I stopped at the Back Room Brewery on site and spent a wonderful couple of hours sampling their equally wonderful brews in superb company. But the garden was calling and plants had to be planted and watered so I left earlier than I really wanted. Back at home I spent the rest of the afternoon pottering around, planting, weeding and watering, and checking for leaks on my pond. There were none. Of course! Below are a few photos of the back deck. The raised flower beds were full of ornamental grasses with hellacious roots. I've got rid of about two thirds and will deal with the rest in the fall. And there's still plenty in the front that I also need to pull. But there's now color appearing in the newly planted beds and pots, the perennials looking settled and beginning to spread, bulbs peeking up through the soil. And it brings me joy to see so many insects making themselves at home among them, I've had plenty of bees and butterflies dropping by, I'm watching now for dragonflies and lizards, and maybe a little frog or toad will find the pond.

Raining Wine and Pizza Gardens

Saturday was an important day in Front Royal, the VA Wine and Craft Festival, and the day began with intense heat and humidity, with storm clouds looming above, threatening to make an appearance.

 I walked down town to meet Carmen, who was her customary 45 minutes late. The festival was at full swing, the main street crammed with people looking at crafts or thrusting their wine glasses forward for tastings. Rather than standing out in the heat to wait for Carmen I stepped inside the coolness of the Visitors Center. I'd been meaning to pop in here for ages but never got around to it, so was amazed to find it a wealth of information, far more than I'd expected. There were thousands of leaflets on the town, the state and neighboring states as well as some great t-shirts and stickers. A return visit is on my list now of things to do so I can investigate more fully and collect some brochures for home. They even had a display of decorated canoe paddles up on the walls from previous years when folks would paint and then auction them. Middleburg does the same with wooden foxes. It made me think I'd like one to hang on my front porch, another project...

There were 17 wineries here and 2 cideries plus a booth selling mead. I tried the mead and discovered that I still don't like it. Way too sweet. But some of the wines were tasty and it was wonderful not to worry about drink/driving. Glasses of wine were available for purchase for only $5 but instead I had a cider from Cobbler Mountain, my favorite cider destination. It was also too hot to drink wine. I was still getting used to this sudden onslaught of humid heat, only a few days before I'd had the heating on in the evenings. I was a little disappointed with the craft vendors. Considering this is a high profile event in FroRo's year, I had thought there'd be more crafts, and more of those high end. But regardless we had fun walking up and down, stopping for lunch when we spotted the sky beginning to look even more ominous. We were sure that soon everyone would be running for indoor sanctuary.

People are so friendly here and even though I've only been living here 6 months, I already recognize people and they recognize me. I'm feeling like a local. The bar man knew us and asked me to remind him of the tea I'd recommended on a previous visit, and then outside I was grabbed in a bear hug by a guy who works at The Beer Museum. I hadn't seen him for a while but he was visibly delighted to catch up and almost lifted me off of the ground, no mean feat! I promised I'd stop by soon for beer and a chat.
The policeman above didn't seem to be enjoying his day too much, not sure why, as everyone was behaving splendidly, even though by now most had been drinking for a few hours. The girls above were glugging down jars of sangria. $20 each with refills at $15, which they seemed keen to partake in. Check out the sky above them, getting darker and darker!

We were just leaving the restaurant when the heavens opened. It was as if someone was pouring bucketfuls down on us, it was so sudden and torrential.

We stood under the awning catching the rivulets of water that flowed off it over our heads in our wine glasses to rinse them out. People scrunched together under the bandstand, as though a single rain drop might burn them, and we laughed at 3 girls trying unsuccessfully to stay dry under 1 umbrella. The streets cleared speedily, leaving vendors with just a few shell shocked folks who were now trapped sheltering in their booths. Lucky them, tastings with no lines! One girl next to us was clutching her broken glass. It had no stem but she commented that she had no intention of putting it down anyway so it wasn't needed. But she did need a refill.

We didn't have to wait too long for the torrents to abate. Like a tap being turned off, the rain stopped suddenly, and people tentatively ventured out into the streets once more. Steam rose from the glistening tarmac and the sun continued blazing down. Business as usual! This lady was ready to continue her tastings, looking resplendent in a dress and necklace that matched her hair. We wished her luck and decided that a nap might be in order for us. I walked home, carefully clutching a delicious chocolate dessert wine, that hopefully I'll be able to save for Thanksgiving.
Sunday was another stuffy scorcher but this time I was driving down to one of my favorite breweries for a Pizza Garden workshop.

I welcomed the AC in my car and enjoyed the summer scenery on the quiet roads, bright, fresh fields after the recent rain, foliage bursting forth with a rampant energy. At Swover Creek Brewery I sampled a hazy unfiltered rye IPA in the peaceful taproom before the Pizza Garden Method workshop started, hosted by Sustainability Matters. One of their team was also English so we began chatting and I suppose the title of the workshop must have been playing on our minds as we ordered a pizza to share for lunch.
The workshop's name wasn't really accurate because there are actual pizza gardens that you can create, literally growing the foods you'd like on a pizza in the one area, but today we were learning how plants could be companions to each other. Tomatoes grown next to lettuce will provide them with shade, bronze fennel grows well near roses, but can cause many other plants to die or bolt. I'm not a fan of the fennel flavor but will get some since they host the swallowtail butterfly, but I'll have to choose a home for it carefully. We learned about the 3 sisters planting method, where corn, beans and squash compliment each other, giving off nutrients and growing different heights. Bocking 14 Comfrey is an incredibly useful plant, edible, medicinal and makes an excellent compost. I very recently discovered that I had another strip of land behind my back garden fence with a plot of about 4' x 25' so will put some of this in, as well as some Amaranth, or love-lies-bleeding. I had planned on growing honeysuckle for the hummers but to my delight it's already growing over and through my fence from next door. Sitting on the back porch or leaving my windows open is delightful with this heady scent filling the air. Fernleaf tansy is a natural mosquito repellent so is also on my list. with pretty yellow buttons for flowers it's also deer resistant, thanks to its aroma.
I was expecting more of a list as to what plants would grow better with each other yet I was more than satisfied with the wealth of information I came away with. We finished the workshop with a stroll over to the farm's kitchen garden where water barrels had been converted into companion gardens, growing lettuce, squash, basil, nasturtium and a couple of other plants I've forgotten. I had no idea so many plants could be grown in one container, my father had always taught me to leave plenty of space between them so they had room to grow. But looking back, his flower beds did seem to have too much bare earth, and ultimately needed a lot of weeding done. I left the farm brewery with my head stuffed full of planting ideas, and another list of plants to buy. no vacations for me this year, my garden's taking all my money!

Labor of Love in Frederick

On Saturday I had to drive over 1.5 hours to Frederick, MD to work at a beer festival with the DC crew. I'd agreed to go ages ago but now the day had arrived I had no energy or enthusiasm for it and would have much preferred to spend the day in my garden and lunching locally with friends. But I'm not one to let anybody down unless I'm physically incapable and so I set off, arriving early and amazingly finding it very easy to find a free parking space close to the event.
I signed in and received a text from the others who were characteristically going to be late. I chatted to the organizers and discovered that there would be no t-shirt supplied, something none of my friends who'd worked this event before had bothered to inform me of. We always got a free shirt when volunteering and I had arrived expecting one. The staff said they'd see if I could have one later. It was a little chilly and I was assuming my free shirt would be enough to feel warm. I was on glass clean up duty but since no public were admitted for a while yet, I had little to do except sample some of the fine beverages on offer. I did get a free glass so I lugged my dustpan and brush and set off, feeling my day wasn't going too well so far. The wind was blowing and dark skies threatened to dump rain, lots of it, judging by the sombre darkness of the clouds that filled the sky.
To take my mind off the cold, I wrapped my arms about myself and concentrated on the vendors. As well as beer, there were folks selling fancy growlers, starting at $129 so I walked past those quite quickly, soaps and dog biscuits, (why here?). There was one excellent local company who offered a service where they would drive your car home after the event with you in the passenger seat and another vehicle following to pick up the driver. A great idea but it was only for locals so wouldn't apply to me.
I scrutinized the beers, not wanting to taste just anything, since I did have to drive home and therefore had to limit myself. So I was being selective in what I'd consume. I spotted a hazy DIPA that I didn't know and asked for a pour.

This was a fabulous start to my beer tasting this dreary day. Called Playground Legend by Calvert Brewing Company, it slid down way too pleasurably for a 9.2 percent volume. It was pure nectar, smooth and fruity, and so citrusy delicious that I could have sucked down a whole pint in one gulp. I could barely tear my lips away from the glass. A hazy brew of nectarines and mangoes, not too sweet or hoppy, a flavor and aroma that lingered and wafted, tantalizingly teasing my taste buds and nostrils. This beer kicked off Squeeze from its top spot on Debby's Best Beers list with a hefty boot to the arse. I quickly asked for another pour and then inquired about its availability. MD was a lot closer than NH, the home of Squeeze. And then my world toppled. I was told that this was just a temporary beer and only a couple more casks existed in their pouring room. No more would be made as the brewery were constantly creating new recipes and wanted to focus on West Coast IPAs rather than East Coast versions. I looked at the guy in incredulous disbelief. Was he crazy? Completely off his rocker? Why on earth would you create a concoction so wondrously divine and then never want to make it again?
I wondered where the others were, wanting them to taste this before the barrel ran dry. They appeared soon enough, some on water duty, filling up the plastic igloos on the site for drinking or rinsing glasses,and some on the gates, handing out glasses to folks as they entered. I led them all to the booth, telling the brewery, "I bring friends!". He loved my phrase, saying a future beer would be called this, a nice gesture, but not enough to squash my disappointment in finding the perfect beer within my grasp, only to have it snatched away again. But the crew did agree it was a tasty beer, and I did go back for more refills before leaving.

The rain obliged us by holding off, although the sky was constant gloom. The lines to come in were never ending, this was a popular festival, although the location meant it was difficult to get from end to end. All the booths were spread out along the river and the path wasn't that wide, so once there was a lot of folks, the lines to get beer made it difficult to move past. But we managed, and before the general public were admitted we headed to the food area where Richard and I had the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Mine had bacon, apple and cheddar, with a hint of honey, on marbled rye, it hit the spot. And was so large that I didn't even mind sharing some of it with Dave, who was busy on the gate and hadn't thought to get food before the rush.

Of course there was music. and this particular band was pretty good. Kev Bev and The Woodland Creatures, pushing an album called Domesticated, they looked anything but. Lurid flowing, concealing nothing, orange trousers with a shocking lime green boa caught my eye, the guy wearing them looking like he'd stepped straight off a Grateful Dead album cover. We stopped and listened for a while, they had a good rock sound.

I was actually very well behaved considering that I was surrounded by so much free beer. Aware that at some point I had to drive I was careful with the brews I consumed and those that didn't pass muster were discreetly poured onto the grass. I had one glass clear up in the morning, it happened right as I passed, so was dealt with swiftly. I could then just walk up and down, scrutinizing the ground for glass but otherwise able to do my own thing. I think I had more freedom than the others.

The festival was packed by mid afternoon and it soon became a task to become part of a long line to get a pour of beer. We hovered by a few promising vendors but soon gave up. Dave had purchased a huge bag of popcorn, having missed his opportunity to get a proper lunch and our shift was soon finishing. We'd tasted the beers we'd been interested in but I was pretty much 'beered out'. We were ready for the finish.

We had a last photo taken by Emily. I had a last call for cleaning up broken glass, once again it happened right next to me, a smash and tinkling as someone's beer mug fell to the ground, and then a huge cheer from the crowd as I swiftly appeared and swept it up. I took my broom and pan back to the organizers and said goodbye, smiling hugely as they gave me a free t-shirt. We all then relaxed at a Mexican restaurant, stuffing nachos and other goodies washed down with diet coke. I left to drive home, the country roads clear with little traffic. I may very well work this festival again, it had been fun.