The Rhythm of August

There's been a lot of doing and not a lot of picture taking this week. I've been putting up green beans, tomatoes and squash at least every other day. I've gotten into the rhythm of August. Wake up early. Drink a cuppa. Head outside and get the gardening done before the day gets too hot. Head indoors and put up the day's bounty.
I continue to have one eye on the Dixie Speckled Butter Pea bed after seeing a groundhog in the garden last week. The have a heart trap is set with fresh cantaloupe daily. We spring it at night because the last thing I want to wake up to in the morning is seeing Peppy (we name all the skunks that come around here that) sitting in the trap! I'll keep this up until the corn and peas are harvested or until the groundhog is caught.
Pictured above:
Cleome or Spider Flower. I've carried seeds from these flowers from house to house for quite a few years now. They were given to me by an old, old friend.
Celebrity tomatoes. Seven of the twenty three survived the July floods. We've been eating a lot of grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches.
Roma tomato plant. I don't know how they grow for everyone else, but we average 100+ tomatoes per plant. We go through a lot of pasta sauce, tomato paste and plain Roma puree in a year.
Here's to a productive week for all and maybe a bit more picture taking for me.
Until next time.....

Late Summer

The morning landscape is thick with spiderwebs. I have always loved looking at them. I found this one this morning while feeding the birds. I think they're one of my favorites. I love the way they hover in the trees. They remind me of flying saucers.
  

 Look at the detail! If you look closely, it looks like a screen. Amazingly beautiful!

 And the scalloped edge! All of this woven in one night.

 Yesterday afternoon, I looked out the window and saw a critter in the back garden. I went to get a closer look and saw that it was a groundhog, sitting in the Dixie Speckled Butter Peas (above), getting ready to eat. A groundhog can do some serious damage. And fast. Trying to decide how to deal with my unwanted guest, I opted for the Have a Heart trap. I searched the Internet to see what was the best thing to put in the trap to attract them. There is a healthy helping of fresh vegetables waiting for the bandit, if it decides to return. (it will). But I'm worried that it will walk right by the trap and just enjoy the fresh vegetables IN the garden.

So today when I go to town, I'm going to pick up a ripe cantaloupe. I read that groundhogs can't resist them. We'll see how this goes. Hopefully I won't be sorry that I chose the catch and release method.
Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Garlic Mystery

Here's the scoop:
We've been growing garlic for years. Never had a problem with it. Until now. The above garlic looks perfectly normal. And healthy. The other day, we grabbed a bulb to use for dinner. Peeled the cloves. Everything looked great. One thing was missing though. The cloves had NO smell. Well maybe they smelled a little green. But they did not smell like garlic or taste like garlic.
We opened a few more bulbs. Same results. Needless to say, we're confused as could be. Besides the fact that we don't have garlic to put up for the year, we don't have our seed crop. We replant cloves from our harvest. So now, I'll have to find a few good sources for garlic.
I'll also be browsing the internet for answers to this mystery. If you have any answers for me, please leave them in the comments.
Until next time.....

Summer Clearance Sale

I have a summer clearance sale in my shop. I think it will remain there until the end of August. Now, I realize that summer isn't over yet and I'm not trying to rush through it. The dog days lie ahead and can very well bite me in the azz with sweltering heat and dry weather. We've had an amazing July thus far, all things considered and I want to celebrate summer with a sale. You can find the section here.
I am beginning to put up tomatoes. It's a happy time. I'll be posting some tomato recipes and tips, so stay tuned.
Until next time.....