November Showers

Another busy weekend, with many pleasures and surprises followed at Towerwater, with Keith replacing the heating element of the geyser of the main house. Shawn and his brother Fungani provided the oak trees with their second treatment of iron chelate for the season. The oaks are responding well to the extensive root treatment that Keith and Shawn administered in autumn.

Wedding and Cherry Garland turned to confetti in the wind

I sowed the freshly turned herb beds with basil, Swiss chard (bright lights) for colour, cilantro, celery, arugula and lots of lettuce. The tomato seedlings were big enough to be transplanted. I can’t wait to see what the green and black tomatoes are going to look like.

I sowed my variety of brinjals for the new season and if the seeds come up I will have white brinjals again. All the beans came up standing like little soldiers in rows with a couple of them already fallen to the trick or treating snails, trick for me - treat for the snails. At least somebody was celebrating Halloween.

The bean bed with casualties in the foreground 

Now I need Shawn to complete the supports for the beans and tomatoes. Building the reed structures to support the vegetables is like playing with Meccano Toys and the vegetable beds are getting a very structural feel.

Thai Gold corn and freshly planted tomatoes

The gate bell rang and I met Elana at the gate who had brought a radio presenter to interview us about the house and garden. A whirlwind of a person got out of the car and before I knew what hit me I agreed to an interview taking comfort in the knowledge that it is for radio. Saturdays are usually working days at Towerwater and we tend to spend it in working clothes. I soon learned that radio is not just voice anymore but very visual with videos to place on the website and social media.

We took a leap of faith and decided to trust Haidee, the radio presenter, and relaxed into the interview working clothes and all.  It was quite an experience being directed through the house trying to fit years of history into 7 minutes.

Julia Child's Coq au Vin

Supper with friends later that evening turned into a French themed affair with duck foie gras with figs, coq au vin and salted caramel crepe flambé. I used Julia Child’s recipe for coq au vin to bring in a bit of American influence for our friends that were missing out on Halloween celebrations back home.

Duck foie gras with figs

In South Africa, Halloween is more of a commercial event than the tradition it is in America. The supper provided an opportunity to enjoy the generous gifts of foie gras and salted caramel from our friends in Paris.

Sunday morning was rather blustery with the wind blowing the leaves off trees, petals off the roses and really testing the strength of the structures in the vegetable beds. The wind was serious about announcing the cold front that was on its way, and I realised that I still needed to transplant the tomato seedlings.

The garden as viewed through the screen door.

With help from Keith, planting the tomatoes turned into a mad running with seedlings, making holes, putting the seedlings in the holes and planting them while the rain drops fell in our necks like icy reminders of what was coming. With the tomatoes planted we retreated into the warm comfort of the house and watched the welcome rain refreshing the garden, through the screen on the kitchen door.

Rose petal covered lawn

The wind turned the garden into a petal strewn wonderland and the November showers added a wet glow to the greens, blues, reds, whites, yellows, pinks and oranges in the garden. The drops hanging from the leaves and petals captured different scenes creating miniature artworks reflecting the beauty of the garden before falling to the ground and shattering into a million drops of welcome wetness.