The Ides of March

As a classics major and former Latin teacher, March 15 for me is always “The Ides of March”. I saw no reason to be wary, though. It is also the start of the indoor growing season. This is the day when I normally begin to sow the seeds for the warm weather crops like eggplants, peppers and tomatoes. Why March 15? Well, these plants can’t go outside and into the ground until night-time temperatures are consistently 50º or above. Here in Northern New Jersey that generally occurs around May 15, rarely before that and often later. The plants in question need a head start of about 8-10 weeks, ergo – March 15.

My new grow-light cart!

Rain was predicted for Friday, March 15, so I planned to use the indoor time organizing my new seed-starting set-up in the monastery basement. The so-called “Mud Room” was recently renovated and it is terrific. I still haven’t  managed to track down all my “stuff”, but there is enough to get started. One item that I miss is a heavy-duty hand-held ice scraper. I have used this to make the rows in the seed-starting containers. It was the perfect implement for that purpose*. The first thing I plant is eggplant, because it is the slowest growing. I have 6 different varieties in various shapes and colors. Work went smoothly and I was finished more quickly that I had expected.

The Abbey orchard

Not only did it not rain, but the day turned out to be mostly sunny. By the afternoon, it was quite warm and I worked for two hours pruning in the abbey orchard. When I returned to the cottage around 4:00 p.m., I checked the indoor/outdoor thermometer; and, for the first time since I moved in, it was warmer outside than inside. Outside it was 68º while inside it was 66º. I took a quick shower and returned to the monastery for Mass and supper.

After dinner, I came back and began making a loaf of Irish Soda Bread. I am the delegated soda bread maker for the abbey. I had put the bread in the oven and was cleaning up when I heard a sound coming from outside. I walked over to the front door and peeked out. Sure enough, it was raining and there was some lightning and thunder. OK, I thought, and went back to cleaning up the kitchen. The next thing you know, the sound had become a roar and I realized that it was the wind howling. The wind was now blowing violently and the lightning was almost non-stop. I could hear the rain lashing the roof of the cottage. Then that sound changed and now it was hail hitting the roof. Then all the lights went out. With the glow of the phone, I found matches and lit the few candles that I had. It was time to abandon ship and head to the monastery where there was a generator and power.

But wait! What about the soda bread in the oven (electric!). I quickly covered it with foil and wrapped it in a towel. I grabbed what I needed for the night and made a dash for the car, leaving the darkened house behind. The lightning was unbelievable – it just never stopped. Fortunately the rain had eased up somewhat. As I slowly drove the darkened road, I was amazed that there were no trees or large limbs down. The road was covered with debris, but nothing major.

Irish Soda Bread

I reached the monastery and went straight to the kitchen. I quickly turned on one of the convection ovens and as soon as it was reasonably hot, I unwrapped the loaf and popped it into the oven. At this point, I could only guesstimate how much more time it needed. The bread was done in about 20 minutes. I cleaned up and poured myself a drink. It had been quite an adventure! By now the storm had passed. I made my way to my room in the monastery. I got into bed and watched one and a half episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives before I turned out the light and fell asleep.

As is so often the case, the day following the storm was beautiful. The sun shone brightly despite a passing shower or two. It was obvious, though, that the cold front had come through. It was a Saturday, so we had Mass in the morning. After breakfast, I went down to the cottage to feed the cats. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear the little generator going. So, we still had no power. I was just finishing feeding the cats when one of the maintenance crew showed up to check on the generator. That’s when I learned the full extent of last night’s storm.

The downed pole

Apparently, a pole carrying three transformers had snapped and fallen onto our retreat center and were on fire. A youth group that was in for the weekend had to be hastily evacuated. Fortunately, no one was hurt and everyone got out safely. The damage to the electrical system was severe, though. The power company estimated that it might be midnight at the earliest before the repairs were finished. So, I grabbed a few more things. It looked like I’d be spending another night in the monastery.

On this bright morning, it seemed like spring had arrived all at once. With spring’s arrival, however, all the spring chores that needed to be done also arrived. I chose to tackle the iris bed first. I spent the morning raking and weeding. After lunch, I opted to take it easy. My hip was unusually sore so I took some Aleve and rested. In the evening, I made two more loaves of Irish Soda Bread and some Irish Cream Mint cookies – a recipe I had gotten from my sister, Theresa.

* Update! I found the ice scraper in another box this afternoon.