i went to whole foods to drop off the car jump starter before making it to market basket. i got some milk and frozen peas for the cafe. for the chowder i picked up some whole baby clams, light cream, bacon, and oyster crackers. all the other ingredients i already have. i also wanted to get some drinks but i was carrying too much, come back some other time.
| new england clam chowder (3-6 serving) | |
|
6 russet potatoes (2 lbs.) peeled, diced 2 cans chopped clams 1 onion, chopped 1 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper |
2 cans whole baby clams 16 oz. light cream 1/2 package bacon, chopped oyster crackers |
| boil potatoes on high until boiling then medium-low 3 minutes (al dente), drain and cool (30 minutes). add chopped clams, onion, salt & pepper and marinate for 1 hour or overnight (in 1 gallon ziploc bag). separate clam juice from whole baby clams. add juice to chowder then simmer medium-low 5 minutes until potatoes done. cook bacon until bubbling then add to chowder. add whole clams and light cream. simmer 5 minutes or until chowder is fully cooked. serve with oyster crackers. | |
there was a cool bike parked outside. i noticed the black box on the rear rack first. i thought at first maybe it was the power source for a makeshift diy e-bike motor. but it seemed to be attached to some green dongle but i later realized was an electric dynamo. there was a pair of usb cables coming out of the dynamo, into the black box. perhaps a phone charging station?
i came home and had some leftover grilled wings and an italian sausage for lunch.
i left as soon as i finished eating, taking the motorcycle this time. i went to the cafe to drop off some supplies before continuing to belmont.
my original idea was to move all the houseplants outside so i could respray everything with a blend of bifenthrin and tekko pro (IGR). but that would've been a major hassle, and since i already sprayed most of the plants with bifenthrin, all they needed was the IGR. i couldn't find good online directions on how to apply tekko pro. contact spray? soil drench? i didn't have enough to make a soil drench - the bottle i had was only 4 oz, enough to make 4 gallons. so i decided to spray the solution on the soil surface, with the hopes that the IGR would somehow seep down. i used google's smart AI to help me figure out how much i needed: the misting spray bottle i had was 500ml, so i needed to add just 4ml of tekko pro (using a syringe needle). 500ml was enough to spray all the plants, including the osmanthus upstairs.
tekko pro is effective for 6-7 months, so should last the entire winter season (bifenthrin lasts for 3 months). it's normally used to treat cockroaches and fleas, so a lot of literature is about those pests. tekko pro contains 1.3% pyriproxyfen - a juvenile hormone mimic that prevents larvae from molting into adults - and 1.3% novaluron - a chitin inhibitor. i'm also going to keep on watering with Bti-infused water until i don't see any fungus gnats. i should probably set up a few yellow sticky traps as well. this way i have multiple control factors and should eradicate fungus gnats 100%.
it was still early - around 2pm - even though the low angle of the sun made it felt much later. i had time to mow the lawn. the grass itself didn't really need cutting, but i use the mower as a way to clean up the leaves and turn the shredded leaves into compost. i started with the front lawn before moving to the backyard. the area around the maple tree had the greatest concentration of leaves. there was so much that it clogged up the mower but i didn't realize it so it wasn't bagging but instead mulching the leaves. i had to remow to pick up all the shredded leaves. i finished by 2:45pm.
i returned home but there was no place to park so i stashed the bike 2 blocks away in my safety spot. the other thing i had left to do was turning those berries i bought on saturday into fruit rollups. but i keep on putting it off. instead i spent the rest of the daylight hours watching youtube videos and doing two loads of laundry - dirty clothes and bedsheets. bedsheets had a few tiny blood stains which i treated directly with bleach. no dilution, just poured directly onto the stains. they disappear after a few minutes like magic.
i threw a block of frozen lasagna in the oven before jumping in the shower. i ate while watching episode 2 of ken burn's american revolution documentary (i watched episode 1 last night).
can't wait to go to bed tonight on clean sheets!