A Wildflower Morning

Come along with me on my walk, and see all the activity in my neighborhood.  It is a most interesting time of year. The wheat isn't ready to harvest, but it is starting to turn golden. The man who runs the local produce stand has an onion field nearby.   The farmer and the workers pull the onions, and place the choice ones in burlap bags, which are then lifted up into a big truck with a conveyor belt machine. These onions are big and sweet, and delicious both cooked and raw.  Today I had one sliced into a fresh cucumber salad for lunch. The alfalfa has been growing fast.  This is the second cutting for this field.   The rows of cut alfalfa make a peaceful pattern across the field. When I was heading back home, a truck drove up with this interesting machinery attached to the back, and he started turning over the rows, so they could dry in the sun. After dark the farmer came back and bundled the cut alfalfa into bales and hauled it ...

On May 3 my garden looked like it does in the photo above.   The summer was slow in coming, and so the plants were slow in growing, but they did grow. Now my garden is taking on the jungle characteristics that I so enjoy.  Take a little tour with me and see how my garden grows, this week. The bean rows are growing tall, interspaced with lush potato plants.  The sunflower seeds my daughter has planted around in various places are getting big, and many are almost ready to bloom.  Sammy, our little dog likes to check on the garden with me.  When I go to the garden, he's always right there with me. A row of potatoes, with squash at the end of the row.  Red potato blooms.  Did you know that Russets bloom white?  I just learned this out in my garden this week.  The Yukon Golds aren't blooming yet.  I am eager to find out what color their blossoms will be.  Bean vines growing on their fence support.  We have to go out an...

We were able to get cherries last week - picked red ripe, sweet, straight from the orchard.  As soon as they arrived at our house, we were ready, with the steam canner set up on the deck, and shiny clear jars, ready to fill.  Mom and I worked together, preparing pretty red fruit for the rest of the year when ripe cherries aren't available. It's a skill she learned when she was a girl, growing up in her grandparent's peach orchard.  She passed that gift on to me, and I'm passing it on to my daughter now. My husband calls me a squirrel, and in some ways there are similarities.  I do like to be ready for winter, but the big difference is:  I know where I put my stash. And it is real a pleasure to see the ruby red fruit of my labor, lined up in a row in the new kitchen cupboards my father stained and installed for me last winter.

There has been an abundant quantity of lettuce coming from the garden the last two weeks.  We planted three different beds at different times, but all three seemed to get ready to eat at about the same time.  There was a bed with a lettuce mix called "Rocky Top,"  a long row of Romaine, and a small section of variety of Butter Crunch lettuce.  If only I had known how delicious the Butter Crunch was, I would have purchased more seed of that variety, to keep planting through until the frost.  But I can put that on my list for next year. The earwigs also love our lettuce and other tender garden leaves.  If anyone has some non-toxic ways to get them away from my plants, please leave me a comment.  I just found a broccoli plant that is almost down to just the leaf ribs, thanks to those little undesirables.

The raspberries are abundant this year in my little patch, growing in the shade of the garage.  We have been picking almost every day, and there is no sign of stopping yet. My favorite way of using fresh raspberries is straight off of the vine, into my mouth.  But if any make it to the kitchen, and survive the roving scavengers that wander through, I like to make my Easy Fruit Cobbler Recipe (Gluten-free, Vegan) and top it with fresh raspberries.  You can find the recipe at my other blog, Wildflower Morning Recipes .

I'm happy to tell you that my garden is growing, fast and well, now that the weather has warmed up.  The T-Tape experiment is successful, adequately watering each row.  The peas are finished, but we are harvesting lettuce now, every day.  Lots of other plants are blooming, so it won't be long until until we will be eating well.  Also, the weeds haven't been as bad as I expected.  There is a good crop of thistle, teasel and bindweed, but we are keeping it under control.

 A beautiful wedding took place yesterday, a wedding for two friends, both committed to God, making a for ever commitment to each other. And not only did they commit to each other before God, they made a family commitment to the bride's daughter, possibly the most touching moment of the whole ceremony. Enjoy a few photos with me, of the special occasion. * Photography by William of Fins, Feathers, and Fur Photography .