Inspired by Thomas Jefferson
You might have thought this post would be about something pertaining to the garden. While I do love Thomas Jefferson’s gardens (see my photos from my visit in these previous postsVisiting Monticello, The Vegetable Gardens of Monticello and The House and Ornamental Gardens of Monticello). This time it’s all about the pet door.
On the upper level of the house, there were round holes cut into the door for the cats to use for hunting mice.
When we decided we needed a pet door to the basement, we considered a few options. We had a conventional pet door back in Ohio, but didn’t want to put one where it would be visible. Then we thought about putting a hole through the floor in the office with a small ramp down to the basement. That seemed a little too involved.
Then we decided it was just more convenient to do what Thomas Jefferson did and cut a round hole in the door big enough for the cats. The cats too to it right away.
This door to the basement is in our dining room, clearly visible when you walk into the room. It will be a good conversation piece no doubt whenever we have someone over for dinner.
There were a few times each one ran into the door on the way through, but that only happened a few times in the beginning. I actually think the cats really love this door. It’s like their own little window, they love sitting on the basement steps peering up or sitting in the dining room peering down. The best part was that it was free!
Do you have anything quirky in your home that was inspired by seeing it elsewhere?
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It’s HARVEST Time
Yesterday, I harvested the first item from my 5×5 Challenge garden. I could have been harvesting the lettuce for at least a week, but I’ve been eating salads from the main garden. This lettuce was planted en masse and I will simply sheer it off when it’s time to harvest. The zucchini plants are getting HUGE and are starting to crowd out the lettuce anyways.
It’s truly amazing how many salads you can get from four square feet of lettuce. We didn’t eat all that I harvested and I only cut about a tenth of what was out there.
After I cut my lettuce I like to soak it in cold water for 15-20 minutes or so. That really seems to crisp it up nicely, especially when the weather is as hot as it has been around here.
If you did plant lettuce in your garden, make sure you start harvesting it soon. With the heat wave many of you are having the lettuce will start to get bitter and it will be bolting before you know it (bolting = going to seed).
Do you have any tips/tricks to share for growing and harvesting lettuce?
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Cultivate Simple 38: Hog Heaven
On this weeks episode we are discussing pigs and why you should think about getting one.
Susy’s Geeky Corner
Start decluttering your mailbox with CatalogChoice.org.
The Permaculture Podcast – Josh Trought and D Acres – This is where we got our pigs from. In the last 10 minutes of the interview he talks about how they use pigs on their farm.
Premier 1 Supplies – Pig Quick Fence
Books of the Week
What is your favorite cut of pork?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43:42 — 71.9MB)
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Fire Delay
Last night, just as we were getting ready to sit down to record Cultivate Simple, the fire radio went off. You have probably heard that Mr Chiots is a volunteer fireman here in our community. When he wasn’t home by 10:30, I figured I should write this post delaying the podcast until tomorrow.
We would have recorded the podcast in the afternoon, but Mr Chiots was busy checking one of the five things off his list. We went down to a friend’s place and he got his first sailing lesson.
He really enjoyed himself. I stayed on shore getting some much needed rest and relaxation. Looks like I really need to look up a mushroom class or something to check something off my list of 5 Things.
Have you learned anything new recently?
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Quote of the Day: Organic Gardening
“Organic gardening is not a system of rules to abide by or be punished for breaking. It is a way of looking at the world. The garden is a model of how we would like to live. We should all garden organically not because it is currently politically correct but simply because it is the most sensible and best way to make a good garden.”
Monty Don from Fork to Fork
Even though the word “organic” is being watered down by corporate interest, it’s good to see more and more people becoming aware of the dangers of chemicals/pesticides and leaning toward gardening more organically.
How many of the gardeners you know are organic?
