Monday we took a break and drove to Fredericton to visit Scott's Nursery in hopes of obtaining some fall planters to replace my poor old icicle pansies that have been out since mid-April but starting to look a bit blowsy now. What a great place! Picked up an entire flat of ornamenatal kale/cabbage and some individual baskets already planted with fall coleus, mini-mums, corn spikes, and sedum. Instant fall garden! But I did spend a few hours on Tuesday planting the kale & cabbage along the front retaining wall. Must remember to take some photos and post them on the website.
And every once in a while, some unexpected events just happen and Monday evening was one of them. We had just walked in the door at 5:30PM from Fredericton to pick up a call from 4 guests on their way from PEI, confirming their booking with an evening meal and to notify me of their late arrival @ 9:00PM. My records showed them arriving on Tuesday (not Monday) so we did have some last minute scrambling to do to throw together a meal for 4! Thank goodness we managed to serve up a Spinach & Pear with Pecan salad, Chicken Pot-Pie, and Lemon Cream cake. My guests did mention that they may have made a mistake given the fact that they originated from the US and with the Bar Harbour - Yarmouth boat cancelled the day they were departing, had to reshuffle some arrangements. Just happy to have been able to oblige!
I’ve been busy making & baking Chocolate Zucchini bread thanks to my organic gardener/farmers, the MacNeils in Bartibog Bridge. Every few days I receive an email from Angela advising what’s she’s picked in the garden so I can put in my order. We’ve been fortunate to sample (in addition to the zucchini) some wonderful yellow & green beans, wild strawberries and blackberries, and some Purple Haze carrots. I served all of this fresh local produce to some Norwegian guests along with some locally raised Black Angus beef steaks and new potatoes for dinner last Saturday, and they absolutely raved about it. Nothing improves cooking like good local food! My tomato and herb garden is at its peak right now, just waiting for the tomatoes to ripen up. I can almost taste it already!
John is on his way to Baie St. Anne today to pick up a case of bottled lobster to sustain him through the winter. He's even built shelves in the basement to store the bottles! I'll be surprised if it lasts him through to Christmas! Remember this is the man who eats lobster everyday when it's in season!