Our little Porch Garden

Getting resettled in Maryland is a challenge after such a long stay in the rainforest.  The amenities are welcome, I must say.  But the last time I lived in an apartment was decades ago, so I require to do some adjusting.  Back in the rainforest, I had built a little raised-bed garden that was producing nicely for me.  Here we have no real estate for gardening so we undertook to create a Porch Garden on the landing that is the entrance to our second-storey home.

When I was visiting last year, I purchased several pots of herbs from a local florist's shop.  We had basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary growing well on the landing and available for some of the recipes we had come to enjoy.  My wife overwintered the herbs indoors.  They were in good shape when I rejoined her last December and we started making plans for an expansion of our incubator herb farm.

We use a lot of mint, basil and rosemary in the preparation of  meals. Hoping to get more herbs, I made another trip to the florist but their selection was very limited. Nevertheless, I snagged some spearmint and some basil and parsley that were ready for transplantation.  A trip to Walmart courtesy of my father-in-law allowed us to secure some large pots, tools and potting soil.  So after a transplantation session, the beginning of our Porch Garden was underway.

We also purchased a tomato plant with the intention of trying a Topsy-Turvy hanging planter.  Unfortunately, the Porch Garden would not accommodate the hanger so we transplanted the tomato in a large pot just for kindness' sake and not really expecting anything of it.

We also started chives from seed I secured on an expedition to Big Lots.  There is a flower box mounted on the porch rail where the landlords normally planted flowers each spring.  They maintain the property in a lovely state with hedge, shrubs and flowering bushes.  We decided to forgo the annual flowers and attacked to flower box with our new cultivator to rid it of last year's debris and prepare the soil for the chives.  To our delight, they sprouted dutifully and are doing just fine.  We look forward to seeing their purple blooms.

On another shopping trip we purchased three houseplants, one of which can be seen hanging out in the herb garden.  It's so uplifting to have plants around.  Our Porch Garden was growing.  And there was yet another opportunity for expansion.  On the main rail were mounting brackets for a second "window box".  We managed to find one at Big Lots and after melting some holes in it, I was able to secure it to the brackets using cable ties.  It has become home to some basil sprouted from a kit, and the spearmint and parsley I got at the florist's.

The next addition to the Porch Garden was a shoe rack - honestly!  We had bought one for the house to accommodate our collection of sandals, flip-flops, sneakers and other footwear.  When I was sitting on the porch watching the plants grow, it occurred to me that a second shoe rack would be perfect to give the garden a makeover.  So the Porch Garden now looks a little more organized and is easier to tend.  And yesterday we discovered some baby tomatoes.  How about that.

Leaving the Rainforest

I have left the rainforest indefinitely and relocated to Maryland USA.  My wife is from here and, after twelve years in the rainforest, she longed to return.  So here we are.  I have applied for status as a resident - the well-known "Green Card".

I had secured residence in Costa Rica.  I brought the required documentation with me from Canada...police report, proof of financial solvency and marriage and divorce certificates.  It took three days of running around San Jose getting copies, stamps and fingerprints for submission.  One month later, I received my residence.

Now to repeat the process in the US.  The Application was easy to find and download online.  We read it through and once the shock wore off, set out to complete and submit it.  But it was clear that this was to be a major project.

First was the gathering of numerous documents; birth certificates, marriage certificates, financial information, affidavits.  Then there was the translation of documents from Spanish to English.

Once the documents had been accumulated, they had to be copied for submission and the originals carefully guarded.

Next came passport-style photos to be included with the application.

Next was a medical examination administered by a certified physician.  In our case, the nearest certified clinic was located in a community an hour's drive from home.  This required renting a car.  The up side was that there was an Asian market at the same location and we were able to secure some ingredients unavailable in our neighbourhood.

Also necessary were flu and pneumonia shots.  These were secured at a nearby pharmacy on the return trip to pick up the medical report.  This required another car rental.

Armed with all the required documentation, we were finally able to submit the Green Card Application.

Then came the first "hiccup".  We received a notification that the financial confirmation we had submitted was not acceptable.  Homeland Security required transcripts from the IRS in spite of the fact that in the application it indicated these could be presented at the interview which was to come later, because it took a long time for IRS to process transcript requests. 

Online once again, we submitted a request for transcripts.  Upon receipt, we sent a copy to Homeland Security.

The next step was the collection of "biometrics".  We received notification of my appointment in the mail.  This could only be done at a designated location in Baltimore.  To get there we had to hire a service we had used previously to go to the airport.  The appointment went smoothly.  They took a digital photo and digital fingerprints.  I was in and out within a half-hour and we drove home.

I was astonished to receive in the mail, within a week, an official ID card that was also an Employment Authorization.  I had no idea this was part of the process.  I have no recollection of any reference to this authorization.  But, of course, it is happily accepted and suggests to me that, for the most part, my application is in order.

Two days ago, I received notification of our interview - once again in Baltimore.  This is a major event.  The purpose is to determine whether or not our marriage is legitimate and not simply for the purpose of obtaining a Green Card.  To this end, we have another monumental session of data collection before us.  We have been provided with a checklist of documentation that we must bring to the interview. 

It is curious to be asked to demonstrate the legitimacy or normality of a relationship.  We have been led to believe that they ask very specific questions regarding information partners should have about one another.  I understand why, of course, but it is a little daunting to accept that my future will ultimately rest in the hands of one individual.  I take some comfort in the fact that the interview is scheduled early in the morning on a Thursday, not a Monday or a Friday!

So we will have to hire the service once again to get to the interview and hope this is the final step.  Although the application suggested the process could take up to a year, so far from downloading the application to the scheduled interview, it has been less than six months.  And I guess I can work if I choose to...that's a good thing.

It's a lot different from living in the rainforest.

Saturday and Valerian Root

Saturday is the day my Housekeeper comes to give my dwelling a once-over-lightly cleanin

So now it's back to the old routine.

I am now petless.  My dear old Gracie had to be put down.  With her gone, Missy was totally lost and needed much more company and of a different type than I could provide.  The wonderful lady who gave her to me was delighted to take her back where she has been reunited with her family of 14 dogs on a large property well out in  the country.  She is much happier.

I had a great trip to Liberia on Wednesday.  A friend drove us to the airport and then we went for lunch before departure following which we went on an extended shopping trip.  Arnold goes to Liberia once a month and has a circuit of shops where he picks up supplies.  Although I had no shopping plans, I made a few purchases including Valerian Root. 

I was familiar with Valerian but had never tried it.  I have had trouble sleeping as a result of a personal crisis.  Consequently, I have been tired, out of sorts and perhaps even a little cranky.  With Valerian I sleep like a baby....highly recommended.

Way too long

It has been way too long since I have posted something.  My Garden has been a great success.  My compost has been a great success.  I have resigned my position with the water association here after a tenure of ten years.  I am now free to travel and plan to do so this year,  I have not left Potrero for twelve years.  It's time to scrape the moss off and start rolling again.

Wireless

I am now totally wireless.  I explained some of the IT misery I have suffered recently. The third time my desktop crashed, I ran out and bought a laptop, a router and an external hard drive.  I then proceeded to set up a home office network,  I was almost there when,,,guess what....my desktop crashed again....fatally!!!

So I am now able to work in the comfort of my living room  which is nice for the kind of work I do.  But the niftiest thing is the wireless capability.  I have an HP iPAQ that we use to collect the water meter readings every month.  It has wifi capability and I can use it to check my email and to access the web wherever I am,  I am increasing degrees of freedom dramatically.

I have so far managed to do without a cellphone but I will be getting one this year to create total freedom.  I am my office!

How Does Your Garden grow?

Finally I am back to my blog.....but what a journey!!  I have suffered four computer crashes in the last six weeks culminating in the purchase of a new laptop.  The continuous rebuilding has been debilitating.  The "upgrade" to Windows 7 has presented a succession of incompatibilities that have been both annoying and disruptive.  I have yet to see the advantage.

When I attempted to upload photos to my blog it just would not happen.  I wasted hours trying, retrying and reading help files to no avail.  Just when I had reached the point of moving my blog to another venue, I clicked the appropriate radio button and lo and behold I can now upload photos.  If I could remember how I got there, I would post the solution but, unfortunately, I can't...it was done in total desperation.

But here we are and this is my little raised-bed backyard tropical garden.  It has come a long way.  I have a bumper crop of basil and hot, hot chili peppers.  Lemon grass is doing well and it looks like eggplant is coming on.  All this is new to me so I am hoping to learn as I go. This is our rainy season so there is minimal maintenance.  I had to do a lot of weeding early on but everything is established now and it doesn't seem to be as urgent these days.

I must say, though, it is awesome to have edible things growing in your back yard that can be harvested and brought directly to the table (or the pizza).  I am very hopeful of the eggplant.  It is flowering now and I am interpreting that as an attempt to generate fruit,  So all in all I am declaring the raised-bed garden experiment a success and I think I will build another next year if I can get more seeds to expand the variety.

On the weekend I made my first ever batch of pasta...of course whole wheat pasta.  It really was no big deal at all.  I mixed the dough and rolled it out on my kitchen island.  Then I sliced it as in the photo.  I was amazed at how quickly the pasta cooked...pretty neat...2 to 3 minutes and they floated to the surface when done. 

I used the pasta in one of my favourite recipes - fat burning chicken pasta...awesome!!

Dehydration - not a bad thing

Since it appears the raised-bed garden is going to be productive, I had to give some consideration to what I would do with all the produce since I inadvisedly planted all the seeds at the same time (well, most of them). I freeze a lot of stuff but have limited freezer space. I also waste a lot of food because I buy it enthusiastically at the farmers' market and then never use it before it gets fatigued. Happily, I can "re-home" tired fruits and veggies to the composter. But this is an expensive approach to making compost.

Several years ago, I got interested in dehydrating food. I think an infomercial may have temporarily grabbed my attention but I never did order because I would have had to jettison my Ginsu knife collection to make room for it - not! Still I thought this might be a practical alternative approach to preserving all the wonderful fruits and veggies that are available here in the rainforest. And jerky was particularly appealing since I was a hunter.

So, "like ya would", I hopped on the web looking for home-made dehydrators since the likelihood of being able to purchase a store-bought version in the rainforest would be somewhere between slim and nil. There were plenty of recipes, ranging between solar powered (which would be good for half the year here), cardboard box models, to more sophisticated designs. After extensive research, I decided I could make one out of a seldom used Coleman cooler and baking racks. I was pretty pumped for this project.

On Farmers' Market day (Friday) I was a little late getting to the venue. But my lovely friend Sally was tending bar and had taken delivery of my goat-milk yogurt so I decided to stay and have a beverage and it was raining anyway. Kelly, the owner came in and I was telling the ladies of my exciting new project. Kelly said she had a dehydrator I could borrow if I wished. So I did.
It is an Excalibur 5-tray model and it works like a charm.

It even fit into my old "entertainment centre" that I built years ago but was outgrown by the big-screen TV. So I went out and bought bananas, a pineapple, mushrooms and corn-on-the-cob. I had red bell peppers that were getting a little "long in the tooth" and needed rescued. I managed to fill all five trays, fired it up and......well, there isn't much more to it than that except to be patient and wait. The next day, I flipped the bananas, pineapple, pepper and mushrooms. Then more waiting. Today I liberated the corn, pepper and mushrooms. The bananas and pineapple are still not solid like the web demos suggest. But that's OK...there's always a learning curve. I put the captives in Ziplok bags and sucked the air out of them. They should keep for a little while but I an really eager to use them. Life can be fun in the rainforest.