Behold the Bounty...

Deep summer has arrived.  The Wooly Caterpillar was marching across the lawn today.  I admire his spiky hair style. 

The bees are loving my borage.  If you have never planted borage, it is well worth it.  The flowers taste like cucumbers.  My nieces loved putting them in our chicken, bacon, ranch, borage wraps.

I have a few chamomile flowers still blooming.  They are such happy little flowers.  

My black-eyed Susans and sedum are still holding strong.  I am astounded that the deer haven't eaten them yet.  Mybe my smelly spray is working.

As always, the picture doesn't do the garden justice.  It is nice to have something that has survived the hail, deer, and whatever else Mother Nature throws at it.

I am completely in love with this hollyhock.  She is about 9 feet tall.  She looks so regal.  The deer ate the bottom, but they couldn't get the top.

The acorns are crazy this year.  They are huge and plentiful.

The turkeys and the deer are loving the acorn extravaganza.  These polts are getting pretty good sized.  I'm surprised at how many turkey polts and fawns we have as the mountain lions and coyotes are pretty regular visitors on our game camera.

Here is the latest garden harvest.  My colorful carrots are amazing.  We fried up the eggplant and it was delicious.  I am so excited that I was actually able to grow and harvest and eggplant.  I have tried this endeavor since I had a greenhouse.  It was worth the effort.

My sweetcorn is never huge, but it is mighty tasty.  I also had a lemon cucumber.  These are by far my favorite cucumber.  I also have a few beans still straggling in.

I had enough veggies from my garden and a zucchini someone gave me, so I canned them.  Seven pints of vegetables for soups, stews, and pot pies this winter.  

Not only was this day productive in the garden, but I also managed to finish a task I had been dreading all summer.  I stained the upper deck.  My mind had it as a much bigger project than it turned out to actually be.  It took about 45 minutes from start to finish.  It sure needed a new coat of stain.  The wood was so dry.  I enjoy doing my yoga workouts on this deck.  In the morning, I do a 7-minute sun-salutation and in the evening, I do a 20–30-minute practice facing the setting sun.  

Do you can your veggies or freeze them?  I do a little of both.  It sure saves time when you come home from work hungry and don't want to wait for the veggies to soften in the soup.  I'm not a patient woman.  Do you have any last-minute projects that you have avoided doing all summer?  Hope your weekend is as productive as mine was.

Someone asked if we grew the peaches.  The answer is no.  The peaches were purchased.  We get them from the same person every year.  He brings them up from Idaho and Arizona.  Our climate is too cold for such things.