Monday, September 30, 2013

Tell me it is not the end of Sept.!!!!


 I keep saying the berries are about done and yet we keep getting a few right along!  I am sure not complaining!!!


Coco and I keep competing for the green beans!  So I have been winning now as she has not gotten into them lately.  Perhaps she has Alzheimers and has forgotten that she can climb the fence and get into the garden!  Or perhaps she is worn out from chasing the birds around her domain!


Isn't this a beautiful Chojuro Asian pear on my dwarf tree!!


These are from our Hosui Asian Pear tree.  Not as pretty as the other one but oh, my!  They are so delicious!  My favorite!


I found this dresser drawer in the trash alongside the road.  We brought it home and my "wonderful gardener" drilled some holes in it.  I tried to transplant a few strawberry runners (at least I hope they were runners) into the box.  They don't look exactly like they are flourishing but it has been a few days and some are still green!  Hoping.......hoping........


I planted some lettuces and spinach into my cold frame for later.  The larger lettuce and carrots I had planted earlier.  I have one little corner left.  Maybe a few radishes?  Well, tomorrow is Oct. 1st and I have a lot to do yet before winter arrives!  How bout you?


Monday, September 16, 2013

Dwindling!!!!!!!


Not too shabby of harvest for Tuesday!  Those few Asian pears on the right fell off the tree.  Peaches are done now.  Maybe a couple left on the tree!


Gathered a little lettuce this day.  Bought organic lettuce and organic spinach at the grocery store last week! YIKES!


Two containers of the four that I froze up from our peach tree plus what we ate!  Happy Dance!  Still getting a few strawberries.  Thinking about making another bed for next year!  That bottle in the upper left is my dried elderberry flowers.  I didn't know how many to dry but if I am going to use a teaspoon a day and a little mint to make tea every day this winter to try to stay healthy I think maybe I should have dried more!!  Learning!


This is our youngest granddaughter Cali ready to start preschool! Yikes again!  She will be four already next month.  What confidence.  That backpack looks bigger than she is!  My! How things have changed since when I started school!


This is the beautiful setting in Coffee Creek Preserves that my band played in for the 911 Memorial Service.  There is a fountain in the background and trails to walk.  It is a wonderful place to go and enjoy nature.


 My refrigerator art display by Gracie and Cali.  Merry Christmas!  LOL  I may be rushing it just a little!!!!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Little of This & Little of That!


I can't believe that we are eating peaches from our yard!!!  "Wonderful Gardener" is amazed and so am I!  They don't look so good but when I peel and cut them up they are so very tasty!!!  I have more than this now.  We have been eating them right along but I may have to freeze a little container or two!!


Instead of the leaning tower this is our leaning peach tree LIMB!  The main root died but the limb grew out from it.  We will try to straighten it a little with a stake but it is pretty firmly standing!  I am learning how to take care of my peach tree limb and come early spring I will be out there with my organic spray!  I can not put anything around the roots as I have learned from Coco getting sick that she will probably eat it!


My poor sad little sweet cherry tree!  The beetles really demolished the leaves this past year.  I am hoping that it makes it!


March 3lst I started this eggplant from seed that Vinnie's Veggies had given me.  It is in the garden now but only this big.  Do you think it will be large enough to harvest by the time we get our first frost in October?  We got our first frost last year October 8th.  Who knows when it will be this year!  It is in the 90's today and still dry.  I don't know anything about eggplant.  How large has it got to be before I pick it??????


I only took one picture of the harvest this week.  It is trickling in but I think I will have to buy lettuce this week.  Not happy about that!  I have some planted but it won't be ready for quite awhile and it is just too hot yet to plant more.  I couldn't believe how large those two green peppers are on each end.  And here I thought I wouldn't get any peppers from my plants this year!  Oh, impatient me of little faith!!!!


See this big thing on my asparagus!! I think it is a praying mantis.


"THE BOSS!"


A few more strawberries.  I keep saying they are about done but then we get a few more, but now I really do think they are about done.  Sure has been nice!


I accidentally broke a branch off from my cherry tomato plant earlier.  I stuck it in the ground and it grew which is surprising to me!  Now I am harvesting cherry tomatoes from it!  My duty as laundry lady is calling so you all have a wonderful harvest this week!!!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Harvest and Various Things!


Monday harvest was pretty good with cucumbers and tomatoes in the white strainer, some cherry tomatoes, few beans, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries!


That same day I also picked some lettuce and three teeny squash.  I gave up on them.  Would it be worth my effort to bake them or wouldn't they be good????  I am giving up on growing butternut squash.  They never do well and I really don't have the room.


I love my new chair pads!  The old ones were looking pretty sad!  The blue in them go nicely with our blue counter.


Monday was my lucky day as I received this in the mail from Emilysincerely!  She had said she would send me some celery seed from what she had collected but with it she included this wonderful bar of homade soap that she made and the beautiful card!  The bar of soap is made of Olive, Coconut & Palm Oils, Water, Lye, Essential Oils and Organic oats.  It is called Smooth Lavender.  Smells so good and I love it!  Thank you so much Emily!


I harvested my last cabbage and pulled the rest of the carrots out of the carrot boxes on the deck.  I have a few carrots planted elsewhere but they are not ready yet.


Pretty sad looking, huh!!!  I planted some patty pan squash late and they were looking good.  Then one day I went out and they were completely wilted!  Oh, well, I don't like pattypan squash very well anyway.  But my dog does!!!!!!


Lookie at all the peppers!  I didn't think I would get hardly any but a couple of my plants decided to produce.  I let some of them turn red before picking. They aren't real big but I am happy with them! Also picked lettuce and a couple spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, sungold tomatoes and a few beans that day.


It is back to Hobart Area Concert Band practice now and I will also be teaching a couple piano lessons.  Life has gotten busy!  The band has been invited to play at the 9/11 Memorial Service in Coffee Creek Preserves.


Our local quilt shop had a half off sale so I bought material for two lap quilts for each of the love seats in the living room.  This is the material I choose (with some help) for the one quilt.


This is a close up of the one material that I fell in love with and we built the colors of the other materials around this one.  I love the music notes and the hearts!


The other quilt will be all batiks and these prints were a stretch for me!!! I think I will really like it when it is finished!  Now I just need time to work on them!


Finished knitting some dish cloths.  This is my mindless work when I am too tired or lazy to think!!!!!  It really seems like fall in our neck of the woods to me and my garden is winding down and so am I!!!!  Christmas will soon be here!  LOL



Progress in the Courtyard!

  It was so nice to look out my bedroom window this morning and see the Clematis blooming instead of a pile of snow.  It is a rainy day agai...