The weather has been pretty consistent this past week: 80's during the day, 60's at night. Fairly humid, but a wonderful break from the 90-degree days of July.
I do love August. Mornings stay cool almost right up to noon, and after 5 in the evening the heat begins leaving quickly so we can enjoy being outside. I guess the only downside is insects. There seem to be a plethora of them this month, from moths to gnats to weird flying things I've never seen before. Evenings and night are especially bad, especially for me since they eat me alive unless I use a repellent of some kind. But we can have firepit time again, and Larry's been cooking out a lot. Dinners are grilled corn, tomatoes, cucmbers, some kind of grilled meat or fish. The other night we had a small picking of green beans which I cooked with thyme and made a sauce from the pot liquer. Delicious.
Mixing a few flower garden photos in with today's post. I'll have to get some vegetable garden photos later. Here, the view down to the chicken house. The apple tree in center has a lot of apples but we're battling a thieving squirrel for them.
This month is serious food preservation month around here. We are not putting up any corn since we have too much left over from last year, but we are still doing tomatoes, and I made another batch of dill pickles over the weekend. I also flash-froze some squash and finally got bags for the vacuum sealer given to us by other son, so I am trying it out with the squash. The sauerkraut is working, onions and garlic are hung to dry, potatoes are stored away, and I'm saving the banana peppers we're getting to make pepper mustard.
Rosemary in the big clay pot, thyme and sage in the planter on the wall. The tall, big-leaved plant is a hibiscus we transplanted from a swamp this spring. It's doing quite well in its new home.
There's dill for salads and bread, basil is flourishing, as are the thyme, rosemary, and sage. The parsley plants are disappointing but I'm hoping they'll hang on and over-winter so I'll have plants in the spring. I've dried plenty for this year's use anyway. Chamomile is blooming, the chives are growing...
Looking over the walled garden, where the dill, chives, basil, chamomile, and sad parsley are growing. Also some calendula, and there are watermelon vines, some Tenderette green beans, and a new planting of cucumbers in here. There are some grapes on the grape arbor. Yay!
The only downsides: blight is hitting the tomatoes, some of them before they've had and ripe maters. And the deer. They got into my big flower bed and pretty well mowed it. So disappointing.
The Naked Ladies are in their garden seat. I do love these flowers, also called Magic Lilies and a few other things.
We've had some rain, some real deluges and some showers but it is getting dry again and we've had to start watering. Again. It's been a boom or dust summer, seems like we can't get a balance between booming storms and dry, dry, dry,
Well. Besides gardens and weather, what have we been doing? Because really we do have a life of sorts! Just a lot quieter than past summers. I've been working on my poetry more than I have for a while, and have written some fair stuff. And we got two new-to-us recliners that I just love, but they meant a big rearranging project in the long room--which is currently cluttered with furniture to be prepared for our booths. I've been trying to get some things finished up just to get some space again. The workroom, where I am supposed to, um, work, is getting better now that Larry has finished working on two big pieces so I will be able to move back out there this week.
Besides deer, we also have dog-and-cat problems. In this struggling flowerbed, the cat has decided to make it a litter box, and the dog has been walking through, so new barricades are up. Thyme, rosemary and oregano are in here, along with a red peony that has yet to bloom, some new iris and phlox, a sorry tea rose, lemon balm and bergamot.
We've also been doing more work at our booths and the extra attention is showing in sales. I think people are nesting this summer--since the usual travel is out, people are working on their homes, making changes and fixing things up. I've seen many home improvement projects in progress, and buyers say they're changing decor, or getting ready for autumn. Are you finding the same thing in your area/around your home? Are you nesting too? I guess I am, as I've made a few changes and have more in mind when we get time for them.
The road to my neighbor's house, about 3 miles away. It's a rough ride--this is a smoother portion. There is an escaped Chinese pheasant and his mate living somewhere in this area. I've spotted him a few times on the road; our neighbors plan to try to trap the pair before winter, as they're unlikely to survive. She has a great hand with raising poultry, so I hope she is successful.
Oh, and we have new baby chicks! That's courtesy of our neighbor who bought pullet day-old chicks for 50 cents apiece and shared with us. So we'll have a new laying flock in a few months. We were down to 8 hens, which means an average of 6 eggs a day. Since we usually eat 4 for breakfast, that made it feel too tight, especially since our son and some friends like to get eggs from us.
That's about all the news from here. Just the usual day in, day out things that make life pleasant. I hope your days have been the same!
Your garden is looking wonderful, so many interesting touches.
ReplyDeleteWell you have lots going on! Your garden sounds like it is doing well, apart from sharing with your wildlife. We are currently at 9 hens and only get 5 eggs a day, so some of them are freeloaders. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks very green and lush; not unlike many English gardens. Lots of interesting corners.
ReplyDelete90s during the day and still over 70 at night here recently - I don't like it! Your gardens looking good despite the attentions of dogs, cats and deer.
ReplyDeleteI bought some organic bug spray last year and one of the ingredients listed on the bottle was cedar oil. I happen to have some cedar incense so I've been burning it when I sit on the porch. I stick it in a old piece of bread or whatever is handy and place it near the floor. It seems to make a difference in the bugs. I also tried it when we were camping because the flies kept getting on the table and it kept them away. Worth a try.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is looking great. Fresh food is the best.
ReplyDeleteSuch a difference in our weather! Still over 90 during the day and only down to 70 ish at night, along with the humidity. I don't mind the heat, but I do wish my tomatoes would ripen!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice garden - so productive! You are losing track of the days being busy, and I am losing track for lack of being busy. Our weather is still nasty hot here, but we are getting way more than the usual amount of rain. We are grilling out a lot too, but not being so good about the fresh vegetables as they are not so close at hand (well, that's my excuse.)
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so good!
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