Enjoying the Garden Goodies

Although the dogs love watermelon, you rarely see a cat who loves it just as much.

 Tiger loves it.  Jasper, not so much.

The peas are still rolling in.  I am planning on putting up a second pea fence next year.  We are getting enough for dinner, but not enough to freeze (shell peas included).  With four of us to feed, it's been a blessing for dinners, but zero shell peas are getting frozen so far this season.  We enjoyed buttered snap peas for dinner last night, and I made Pumpkin-Sage Macaroni.  

The macaroni dish uses fresh parsley and sage from my herb garden.  Mmmm!  Love this dish. 

What's going on in the garden?  Weeding.  Lots and lots of weeding.   Lots. Of. Weeding.

The Back Porch

 (Me and my more off than on again book)

Although we love our front porch, we do have a back porch.  More like a side porch.  The front faces east, while the other one faces south.  Sort of a boring post, but Hubby gave me a bloody nose this morning, so I'm hurtin'.

Bits of Barn Wood and other random tales

Happy 4th of July!
 
We stayed around the homestead for the holiday weekend.  Well, most of it.  We visited family and friends at the Lake, and stole off on a few motorcycle rides.  But.  We started on the big barn.

We've managed to move one barn door from the ruble.  It wasn't moved very far, and is now waiting it's next move. They are heavy by the way.  It'll take more than two of us to get it up and on the other barn.  Hubby and I dug through the debris and started pulling out barn siding.  We took the saw to a few, made them look nice, and delivered them to the folks who knocked the barn down.  They loved the "samples" and we'll be back to this mess.

All that siding laying down is weighed down by beams, so we have to get equipment to take care of that to free up the siding.

See that siding up on the old straw?  Well, I removed the fungus covered wood, and crawled up there.

I got what I could without putting myself in danger, and my legs got stung by stinging nettle.  It hurt the entire time we were out there, and my legs were red.  However, by the the time we retired that day, the rash was completely gone.  Seriously.  Could I be immune to it now due to drinking nettle all the time?  I know my hands broke out with a rash before, but my legs seem to have a reverse situation.


I planted zinnia seeds 3 times this year.  The first planting, 3 places popped up.  And a pot of them.  However, all the remaining plantings did not.  I replanted.  Nothing.  I bought seeds and replanted.  Nothing.

Then I saw them.

Birds.  They have multiplied this season. 

The robins and chickadees in the exact locations of the plantings (I put markers so I knew where to water).  Grr.  They were eating them so no flowers.  I will have to start seeds indoors next year, or if you have a tip to keep birds out of the flower beds (without looking gaudy) please share.

We may be eating ground hog as well as rabbit for dinner this summer.  I now have a ground hog issue. I've seen him before, and thought he was just passing through, but no....

June bearing strawberry season is over, and it's the end of our radishes too.  The radishes left in the ground, are already going to seed.

This is the last of the harvest.  I won't be getting another batch of radish relish, but I will be roasting these.

The peas are still rolling in thankfully.  Both snap and shell peas.

Bread was baked again over the weekend.  Just our regular 'ol every day stuff going on here.  Nothing spectacular, nor exciting.  Other than I lost 4.2 of the 10 lbs. I gained since the stint in the hospital last winter.  Proof if you lose weight fast, you'll gain back over what you lost, and it is very (very) difficult to get it back off.  The scale has moved and I am very (very) happy about it.  Only 5.8 more to go, and I'm down to my lowest weight of last year, then it's onto a new goal.  

Crisis in the Chicken Run

The weather was hot, humid and downright miserable.  Mother Nature kept teasing us with a sprinkle here, a sprinkle there...

...and dark clouds everywhere.  Ha.  Sounds like a poem.

Creative Meals ~ Eating Empty Pea Shells ~ Handiwork ~ The Garden Grows

Another creative week of stretching meals - used up the last two organic sweet potatoes I had on hand.

I had green onions and dill in the herb garden, so I made us some creamy sweet potato salad.  Yum.  The dressing is half yogurt and half mayo.  We love this stuff. 

Fish was pulled from the freezer (so thankful for that), and we still have veggies in the freezer from last year.   That bumper crop of green beans has been useful.  I still have a few servings of broccoli too.

Calendula Cookies ~ More Peas

The title is correct -  Calendula Cookies.  I added these flower petals to salads last year, and this year I am expanding.  I found several recipes in a book from the library, regarding edible flowers.  Something new to try this year, and new to blog about. 

The cookie recipe uses about 18 flower heads.  I had flowers, and I had a hankering for cookies (when I shouldn't be eating any). 

Picking Peas In Pajamas

Saturday we picked peas in our pajamas, had a leisurely breakfast on the porch (fresh eggs, homemade bread with home canned jam and coffee), and then by 10am took off on a motorcycle ride. 

We ran some errands, and rode to a campground where extended family and friends were camping for the weekend.  Good food, lots of laughs and they were all talking us into changing our plans.

We had a wedding to attend in Michigan.  Hubby's sister had been taken to the hospital (trouble breathing).  We was admitted over night for tests.

Sort of a funny tale about the weeding.  My biggest challenge?  Finding a nice outfit for an outdoor wedding, that didn't make me look like I left the garden or got off the Harley, ha ha!  I succeeded.  Even though I lost 38 lbs. last year, I found a skirt and top and some dressy sort of flip flops to wear.  And, believe it or not, a matching purse.

Sunday was a repeat.  Picking peas in our pajamas, and a leisurely breakfast on the front porch. 

Only there was no homemade bread to be had.  Zero.  Not even a tortilla.  However, I had a few pieces of homemade flatbread in the freezer, one last package of bacon in the freezer, and a few measely potatoes.  Wa-la!  Omelets were made.  Flatbread was saved for later.

We later drove up to visit Hubby's sister in the hospital.  Tests continue.  She has pancreatitis.  She's had it before I guess, but she is doing well now.


Garden work continued, but today it looks like rain.  I've been up since 3am, and my catnip tincture failed for insomnia.  It's gonna be a long week.