Yep, I'm Still Kicking

For years I maintained two blogs. This was my personal, semi-anonymous blog.  I also maintained one for work. About two years ago, I decided to merge the two blog, so if you want to know more about what's going on with me, go here: www.thepulpitandthepen.com

But since I had this blog for so many years (going back to 2004), I occasionally want to post something here. So let me tell you a bit about winter sailing and gardening.  Until the COVID-19 outbreak, I did a lot of sailing, mostly on our clubs J24s during the "Frostbite Series." On Facebook, I took a lot of grief about "frostbite" in Savannah, but it can be quite cool on the water, especially with high winds. Many days, I was wearing bibs and rain jackets and regular wrap around life jackets (as opposed to CO2 type vests that allow a lot of movement and inflate when they hit the water). The CO2 vests are nice in warm weather, but not when the wind is howling and the temperature is in the 40s. Here's a few pictures:

Yep, we went out and did well (but only 4 boats showed up and only two completed the course)

waiting for the race (look at the whitecaps)

another rough weather day with spray coming over the top

the last race before COVID-19--pretty mild day

  I have enjoyed having a garden here (a plot in the community garden) for almost four years. I can generally get two crops a year. In the winter, I grow several types of lettuce, red and green cabbage, rutabaga, turnips, mustard, Swiss chard, beets, parsnips, cauliflower, and onions. In the summer, I plant several types of tomatoes and peppers, egg plants (regular and Japanese), okra, squash, and pickling cucumbers. I'll be harvesting crookneck squash this week!  After early to mid-July, most of the garden will go dormant in the heat except for the eggplant, okra and peppers. They seem to thrive on hot weather. Here are some pics of my garden and some of my products:

A couple weeks ago, garden transitioning to summer crops

One day's harvest: beets, a cabbage, kale, lettuce and Swiss chard

This got accidentally posted on Facebook as "beer and parsnip soup... but it's beet

A friend learning and helping make sauerkraut

2 months later, my yearly supply of sauerkraut

I used 14 heads of cabbage this year from kraut. It gave me roughly 2 1/2 gallons! 

In other news, I haven't kayaked since January, but I think I'll make up for that this week. On the other hand, I have been doing a lot of bicycling (especially since the fitness center closed). I've been writing some and reading a lot (you can catch up about that on my other blog. I have some book reviews to post along with a story about a trip to Austin, Texas in early March, just before everything shutdown. Stay safe everyone!