What a Long Hot Summer!

For the first time, I am actually looking forward to Autumn!

This summer was the hottest and driest most people can remember.  We had to lug water for the garden nearly every day...in order to actually produce produce.  The heat was great for peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and some of the other veggies though...
Look at the size of those Lemon Drop pepper plants!!

Since the harvest has been coming in, I have made a few varieties of hot sauce, dried cayenne, dried sweet peppers, smoked varieties of hot peppers, a couple ristras, and sold and eaten lots of fresh peppers.
I even made a connection with a local hot sauce maker to piggyback onto his bottle order to make my hot sauces look professional!
5oz Woozy bottles with Cayenne sauce and The Redheaded Stepchild hot sauce mix!! (we haven't finished making labels...)

I sure do enjoy working with peppers!  Next year I plan on trying some rather unusual types of super-hot peppers...

Something else that has been making this summer busy is my dating/courting someone!  I've been trying to keep up with my responsibilities at home, and do as much as possible with 'My Man'.

Just recently we decided we wanted to get married, so are working on figuring out an appropriate date for that event.

Wow!  It is strange to think, at this time last year, I had no idea this was coming!

I didn't end up taking any bike trips this year, and haven't ridden as much as I would have hoped.  I even got my driver's license...

  I am not getting a car, though.  No way!  Bicycles are the way to go!

The milk supply I was using for cheesemaking stopped, since the farmer ended up with calves...but hopefully this winter I'll be able to start that up again.

Sorry it has been so long since I posted....I'll try to post more regularly, but I really can't promise anything....especially when my life is busy with unblogworthy stuff...

I'm a Farmer Pirate!

Well, I haven't talked much about the things I do at home in Buffalo, but the time has come!  

I am involved in a co-operative for urban gardeners/farmers called Farmer Pirates.  My family runs the Wilson Street Urban Farm, and we work together with other budding gardening operations on the East Side of Buffalo.  Our goal is to bring good food and the awareness of nutritional and environmental issues to city-dwellers.  Unfortunately the urban soils have been so neglected and abused that it is very difficult to grow in them.  The solution to this is huge amounts of soil amendments, the most important of which is compost.  We are unable to obtain the amounts of compost we need, since we have inadequate equipment.  You can help us raise the money to buy the tools we need!  Just go to Farmer Pirates Compost Program and you can donate...

What have I been Doing?

I'm sorry, it has been a very long time since I posted anything.  I haven't been doing any interesting cycling-related activities.  

I have just been regularly riding across town for various reasons.  My ankles healed completely, and now I am sure to remember the correct height for my saddle, to avoid any other such mishaps.  My knee doesn't give me trouble, unless I exert it more than normal without stretching.  

A local cycling group recently advertised my canvas bags to those on their mailing list!  I haven't gotten any responses, but it is a first step...

A fellow bicycling traveler who decided to stop in Buffalo contacted me through Warmshowers, and now we are making a bicycle bag for her bike together!

I've been renovating a room in the basement to turn into a cheese cave, for aging cheese.  It has been a lot of work, but it is nearly done.  

Just recently I was the happy recipient of a supply of milk for cheesemaking.  The farmer gives me milk, and I give him some of the cheese I make!  A pretty swell deal for me I think!

I got my first shipment of milk last Thursday, and made Gouda, Neufchatel, and Ricotta out of the three gallons.  Neufchatel is similar to cream cheese; just made with more milk than cream.  

Here's what the Gouda looks like...and for some reason there are holes in the surface...I guess the curd was more firm that it should have been.

Another project I've wanted to get started is repairing a fiddle.  I was able to buy a damaged fiddle off Craigslist, and now have to figure out how to fix it up.  I'll get some books from the library on repairing violins, buy some tools and supplies, and carefully try to make it sound like a quality instrument.  This will be my first time repairing an instrument, and I'm hoping to do well and learn a lot!

Here's the project as she looks now...

So there you go, these are a few of the things I've been doing while not updating my blog.  

Life really is a journey into the unknown.  I had no idea at the beginning of the year that I would be able to get back into making cheese.  Not in my wilder dreams did I think I would get good milk for cheese making  in exchange for just some of the product.  You never know what will happen, what opportunities will present themselves.  Always be open to the unexpected, it is probably the beginning to a great story.

I could use this blog to document all the random adventures of my life, or I could keep it focused on cycling.  You, my readers, help me decide!  Focus on cycling, or allow for any adventure life throws at me?

Camping Permits...

Fortunately for us, camping is free in designated areas along the Pine Creek Rail Trail, but we had to acquire permits.  It was necessary to call both the Tioga forestry service and the Tiadaghton forestry to ask for camping permits.  It is kind of strange to have to call two different parties to use one trail...but the trail goes through both regions.  Everyone I talked to was very helpful and co-operative and I ended up enjoying the phone-calls I had been dreading.  "Scott" was annoyed by the slowness of his computer, and he understood completely what my situation was and what kind of permit to issue to me.  "Wendy" thought 17 miles was a long distance to ride, and had a hard time understanding that there wouldn't be a car to pick me up at the other end, but we were able to figure out the permit there, too.  It was a pleasure talking with them...next time I won't dread calling.

Changing Plans...

Once again our plans are changing.

This time we aren't canceling the trip completely!

Since both of us want to be here for at least some of the summer in Buffalo, we have decided not to ride all the way to Tennessee at this time.  I guess we just like being home too much too miss a whole summer of good times with friends and family here in the city.  Maybe a trip in the fall would work better....

We are still definitely planning on taking off soon towards Pennsylvania...and staying there until we return!

Physical Prep...

Since I contracted an injury on my first short tour I decided some physical preparation before heading towards Pennsylvania would be a good idea.  I haven't been doing a regular exercise program but have been trying to ride frequently.  The distances aren't far, and I haven't been riding loaded, but it is more than nothing!

Tuck, my brother and partner on this trip, hasn't been riding much, so hopefully his knees are in better condition than mine already.  We will be riding mostly on pavement and both be carrying less than I was when I injured myself so that should reduce the chance of an overuse injury.

Rest does wonders...

Finally, after too much sitting around doing lots of sewing again...my knee is without pain.

I rode over 15 miles yesterday and am feeling good!  It was so nice to get some fresh air and exercise again after sitting inside for so long.

Now I am going to start carefully strengthening my knee in preparation for leaving on the 'big trip' in June.

In the meantime I've been making a handlebar bag for Dad.  He had all his specifications for size, leather color, attachment device and so on...

It has been fun, especially since it is turning out beautifully.

Maybe I will try making another design before leaving in June....

Expect the unexpected...

Life, and God, are interesting and amusing.  

As soon as I decided it wouldn't be possible for me to leave this month I received a message from a reader asking if I could teach him to sew canvas bags like mine. What a 'coincidence'!  My month is suddenly opened up, and just as quickly, there is something to fill it.  It shouldn't be hard...help him get all the supplies needed, demonstrate the different stitches, get him started, ease the difficult parts, and hopefully finish successfully!  I do enjoy teaching and am glad for the unexpected employment.  

My Dad recently started asking me for a handlebar bag.  He doesn't want one just like mine...he wants me to make one to his specifications.  I typed up a form for him to fill out that gives all the options I offer.  Maybe I should see if there is a business in making custom canvas bike bags.... 

Since I'll be home for at least another month, it is good to have work to keep me busy...