Murphy’s Law
Murphy’s Law succinctly states: “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”.
If you want a more scientific sounding version, there is Fineigle’s Law: “The
desirability of an outcome is inversely proportional to it’s likelihood of
happening”.
September is supposed to be one of those magical months in Maine, when the
black flies and mosquitoes are gone, traffic becomes less hectic and we can
enjoy the sound of crickets in the morning as we tend to our garden’s fall
harvest. The time for blissful relaxed contentment! Unfortunately our Dutch
Neck wildlife saga did not get it’s ‘closed for the season’ notice!
Labor Day came early this year and with it another porcupine onslaught. This
must have been #4 and #5, since one night saw the new recovery growth from
previous attacks on the pear trees completely stripped and quite a few
previously untouched branches stripped and broken.
There must have been quite a wildlife party that night in our garden, since the
raccoons had enjoyed their holiday feast in my small corn patch. I had given up
growing corn and strawberries for just such raids some 10 years ago, but the
“Urban farmer” restaurant in Philadelphia had handed out a packet of seed corn
with their bill earlier this year on a visit and I did not want to waste them.
Being a center city restaurant it meant to be fresh food friendly. It certainly
was, to my Maine raccoons.
Previous experience with porcupines though called for more traps from The
Critter Catcher. After a week with no more sightings and only one false trigger
of a trap, Murphy’s Law struck. There was a beautiful black creature in a trap
under the pear tree, but unfortunately it had no quills, but black fur with a
white stripe along the back and its fluffy tail. The most undesirable catch – a
skunk!
While I had gotten fairly good at releasing a raccoon and squirrel and
resetting a trap, a skunk was another matter. Even though I managed to
get within 5 feet of the trap to take a picture while having a quiet
conversation with the creature, opening the trap was best left for
professionals. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley arrived and assured that releasing it could
be done without potential damage.
The skunk had other ideas. Once the
gate of the trap was raised, it did not head for the woods on 3 sides of the
clearing, it headed slightly down hill and straight into our garage! Well, an
hour later when my husband had moved both cars out of the way, a thorough
search of the garage revealed it hidden in a corner behind some used pots and
garden implements. Mr. Stanley had almost coaxed it fully out with gentle
squirts of warm water when it got tangled up in some wiring and before capture
decided to leave a partial odiferous thank you note as he was transferred to
woods far away. Lysol spray and continued airing with a fan has made the
place almost livable.
Fortunately the garden vegetables
and the abundant peach crop smell a lot more appetizing.
Harvest vegetable soup
Sauté a coarsely chopped large
onion in 1 Tblsp. olive oil for 5 minutes, stir in 2 chopped garlic cloves and
2 stalks chopped celery. Continue to cook on low heat for 2 minutes, then stir
in 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. oregano, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional) and 4 cups
broth (chicken, beef or vegetable) and 2 ripe cut up tomatoes. Bring soup to boil
and add the following vegetables cut to bite size: 2 carrots, 2 medium scrubbed
unpeeled new potatoes and 1 cup string beans cut in 1 inch pieces. Bring to
boil and cook for 20 minutes. Add some chopped Swiss chard, continue to cook
for 3 minutes then stir in some chopped flat leaf parsley and fresh basil.
Adjust to taste with salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.
Fresh peach – almond pie
Quickly blanch the peaches in
boiling water, then peel, slice and toss with 1 Tblsp. lemon juice. You should
have 4 cups of sliced peaches for a 9 inch pie. In a small bowl
thoroughly mix together 1 cup sugar with 2 Tblsp. cornstarch. Pre-heat oven to
450 degrees. Unroll a ready- made pie crust (or crust made from scratch) and
fit in the bottom of the pie plate. Sprinkle 1 Tblsp. unseasoned fine bread
crumbs in the bottom of the pie and cover with ¼ of the sugar-cornstarch mix.
In a large bowl toss the sliced peaches with the rest of the sugar mix, ½ cup
sliced almonds, 1 tsp. almond flavoring and 1 tsp lemon flavor. Turn the
filling into the pie and dot with 1 Tblsp. butter. Cover with the top crust,
crimping the sides and cut in vents in the top crust. Lightly baste the top
crust with cream and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes,
then turn the oven to 350 and continue baking for 25 additional minutes. Slide
a layer of aluminum foil on the rack below the pie to catch any liquid bubbling
out the top. Cool before serving.
This morning’s postscript was skunk
# 2, but this time we kept the garage closed for the release. The humor of this
situation is wearing thin, so the trees are getting ‘non-climbable ‘sleeves.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the
author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal
Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
