Summertime.....

And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky
But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by
Summertime,And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
____________
Thank you, George Gershwin!

~~~~~Happy Summer Everyone~~~~~

Until Next Time.....

.....with their running shoes on

I love when the Killdeer come back every Spring and make a nest in our driveway. You read that right- in our driveway. That's how they make their nests- just push around a few pieces of gravel and you're good to go. I often wonder why those birds are not extinct. What are the chances that the eggs make it the 26 days when they are sitting in the middle of someones driveway (actually off to the side)?

I love the sounds that Killdeer make. They are shorebirds. I can close my eyes and feel like I'm at the ocean- a real treat for this landlocked beach bum.

So, in mid May when I walked out to the mailbox and Mrs. K started doing the "I broke my wing and I'm helpless, come get me" routine, I knew that there was a nest somewhere. Sure enough, on May 13th the first egg was laid. Each day after that for the next four days, there was another egg.

I'd check every day to make sure we still had eggs and when it came close to the due date, and we still had eggs, we got pretty excited around here.

On June 12th the eggs hatched! Killdeer babies are adorable. They look furry. They are precocial birds- meaning that they ripen beforehand. They don't lie in the nest and get waited on. The come into this world with their running shoes on. And that is so true. The day after they hatched out, they left the yard. I wanted so badly to collect them and bring them back. But, I did my job, Mr and Mrs K did their jobs and it was time for the babes to hit the world. After all, they did have their running shoes on. And they looked like Chucks to me.

Until next time.....

It's Hot Out and.....

you need a pool! That's what a commercial from a local business has been telling us on TV for years.

So, of course, I had to have a pool, but since this house isn't our 'final destination', I didn't want to even consider a 'real' pool. So, off I went ~ pool shopping. In my mind, I had a picture of what I wanted. Imagine my surprise when I went into Academy Sports and they had it! Without telling John, I bought the pool and the pine straw and tarps to go under it. Oh yeah, and the bicycle pump. Imagine, if you will, the look on his face when he came home that evening and I was in the pool with my sunglasses and a cold drink.

Everyone that I talk to about my pool thinks that I'm nuts ~ that is until they come over for a swim. What's the one thing that everyone wants to do when they swim? Float on a raft. Well, with our pool, you don't need a raft! And, it has two blow up cushions, that are great to prop yourself up on, when you start to melt.

Another good thing about this pool ~ I can work in it. I bought a few floating trays and they work perfectly! No splashing though, when I'm working.

I got it down to a science on how to care for my pool. I change the water once a week. I use old garden hoses to siphon the water out onto my trees and plants. I bought something to throw in the water if it gets dirty that is especially made for small pools ~ although I don't really like to use it. In between cleaning, I wipe the inside down with a light solution of bleach water.

And I got a lightweight plastic tarp to put over the pool at night because last year, this guy made one of the cushions his private lily pad and someone laid eggs on top of the water.

It's been unseasonably hot this season. It's about time to put up the pool. Keep cool!

Until next time.....

Garden Surprises

One of my favorite places to be is in my garden- surrounded by my plants, watching them grow, picking and eating vegetables before I get them to the house. (please don't let on that the sugar snaps are already producing :). I don't want for anything at times like these. But every once in a while when I think things can't get any better, something happens to surprise the carp out of me!

Like last year, when I was photographing columbine for my flickr pool and this guy showed up in the picture.

And last summer, while I was on my knees weeding around the Euonymous bed and I heard something rustle from underneath it and this guy RAN out. I guess he thought that he just hit the motherload. Surprised both of us!

Today while I was photographing my first Echinachea blossom, this beauty flew into the picture and started feeding on the verbenum. I had never seen one of these around here before. What a gorgeous sight! The red dots on the wings look like cherries.

But the best thing I've seen yet is this guy. I've heard that they eat cabbage worms- public enemy #1 in my garden. I got to witness it first hand; that is after I ran inside to get the camera.

So, next time you go into your garden, be ready for those garden surprises. Might want to have that camera with you, just in case.

Until next time.....

~Blue~Cool~ Blue~

If I had to pick a favorite color, it would have to be blue. There isn't a shade of blue that I don't like. It shows in my flower garden. When I go to the nursery or page through a flower catalog, my eyes gravitate towards the blue flowers. At the garden center, I put one of each variety in my cart because if I don't, I know that I will have to go back and get it later. There aren't that many true blue flowers, so I settle for purple and black also. How cool are black flowers?

Some of my favorite things are blue. The sky, the sea, bluebirds, blueberries, John's eyes and Blue~my truck.

Up at Crystal Lake, wild blueberries grow under the Oaks. The berries are a lot smaller than domestic blueberries, but they taste so much better. Unfortunately, the late freeze killed the blossoms, so blueberry picking will have to wait for another season.

I'm hoping the blueberry farm, down the road, didn't lose their crop too. I can't imagine a year without blueberries in the freezer.

Here's how I freeze them:

I don't wash them. They're not sprayed and are clean, so I just spread them out on trays and freeze. I then put them in freezer containers. That's it. When I want to use them for a recipe ( or eat them frozen~really good!) I pour out the amount that I need.

We eat our fair share of blueberry muffins and blueberry pie and even blueberry ice cream, but my favorite blueberry dessert is Blueberry Coffee Cake. The combo of blueberries and cinnamon is irresistible. Thought I'd share the recipe:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups blueberries- fresh or frozen* ( If you're using frozen ones - do not thaw them first.

topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup unbleached flour

1/2- 1 teaspoon cinnamon- depends on your love for cinnamon infused treats

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter- softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x9x2 inch square baking pan.

Cream together the sugar and butter. Stir in the egg and milk. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add to creamed mix. Fold in blueberries. Spread into pan.

Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.

Bake for 45 minutes~or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

I mentioned Blue. I just love my truck. A girls got to have a truck when she carries around as much as I do. I've got to head out to the Co op this morning to pick up metal fence posts to stake tomatoes. Better make hay while the sun shines. Until next time.....