Sunday, August 29, 2021

Preservation...

I accomplished a lot this weekend.  It is hard keeping up with everything that needs harvested.  Sometimes it seems like a lot of work.  Then you have a perfectly smoked venison roast, green beans from your garden, sipping on homemade wine, and topped off with fresh peach cobbler.  That's when you know all is right with the world.

My first project was the bumblebee tomatoes needed picked and quartered.  I've been waiting all summer for this.  Cover them in olive oil, onion powder, garlic salt, basil, parsley, and pepper roast them at 400 degrees for 10-20 minutes.  After they cool, I take them directly to the freezer still on the pans.  Once frozen, they are transferred to freezer bags so I can savor them all winter.

Then there was a peck of perfect peaches to preserve.  Honey spiced canned peaches and peach salsa was at the top of my list.  Tomorrow I will make Spicy Vanilla Peach syrup.  
They didn't all make it to canning.  Many were eaten fresh, with cream, and in peach cobbler.
The weekend wasn't all work.  Plenty of time was spent enjoying the garden.  The bee below must have been drunk on pollen.  He stayed in that flower for two days.  Never moving, even when other bees crawled over him.


Despite finding out I have developed an allergy to bee stings, I couldn't help but take photos.  They were sure busy.  I suppose they feel the fall push.

Another project was to braid my sweetgrass.  It has been drying for a few weeks now.  I wish I could share the smell of sweetgrass.  Nothing compares.  That was not the only dried plants harvested.  One of the jars is filled with lemon basil, lemon balm, and lemon grass.  The other is licorice basil.  Currently, I'm making a cup of lemon grass tea.
Have you ever smelled sweetgrass?  Do you look forward to the peach harvest as much as I do?  What is your test to prepare peaches?  I hope you had a fabulous weekend.


Sunday, August 22, 2021

Bed, butterflies, and broccoli...

We tried the sweet corn today an it was wonderful.  There are still raspberries.  Just a small harvest of broccoli, but quite a few Gerkin cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.  Perfect for snacking.




It finally cooled off here.  Even a little fog and some much needed rain.



The porch has been a delightful place to watch the butterflies and bees.  I am trying to keep my distance from the bees, as I found out last weekend that I am now allergic to them.  


The colors look so pretty shining through his wings.


 
Hopefully it has cooled down where you are.    Have you seen a lot of bees and butterflies were you are?

Sunday, August 8, 2021

Projects...

 It was a busy weekend. There were quite a few things to do.   The beans are starting to ripen.  I had enough for dinner and some leftover to can.

I have been itching to do some beading.  I am by no means a professional, but it is calming.  

Someone asked what I planned on using the porcupine quills for.  This was one thing I had planned to do with them.
Along with harvesting flower seeds, I also trimmed my licorice, lime, lemon, and sweet basil.  They are great in teas.  I found this old metal something-or-another long ago and knew I could use it for something.  It makes a perfect herb drying rack.
My garden is starting to produce.  Here are the beans, cherry tomatoes, and Mexican gherkin cucumbers.  They are great for snacking.
My pumpkin is making great progress.  There is a little acorn squash hiding behind it.
There are still berries to pick: raspberries, chokecherries, and sand cherries.
In case you are wondering what a sand cherry looks like on the shrub.  I will say they are rather tasteless.
That's all I know for now.  Somewhere amid all of that I found a little time to sit on the porch.
Hopefully, you are enjoying your summer.

Sunday, August 1, 2021

Tomato Taj Mahal update...

 I've been spending a lot of time in the Tomato Taj Mahal.  I decided to spruce it up a bit.  I made a sign and a twine holder.  I'm pretty happy with both projects.






I didn't take a photo after I tidied things up.  I pulled out the last of the bok choy and replanted the right side with lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers.  The cucumbers probably wasn't a good idea.  I guess time will tell.
The outside garden is fabulous.  The corn has tasseled.  I have some pumpkins and squash.  We ate our first batch of beans, yum.  My broccoli and cabbage are beautiful.

My butterfly and bee garden is flourishing.  Sorry the bee picture is blurry.  I was being buzzed while I tried to take it.



That's my adventures for the week.  I'm still picking berries.  Raspberries are pretty much it at this point.  Now it looks like my focus will be on the vegetable garden.  What are you focused on?