Gathering For a Visit

Come sit with me in the cool shade of afternoon; thankfully I have a covered deck where we can distance safely as we visit. It's been a long hot summer and the best we can say for it is that we are still connected, still able to exchange ideas and kindnesses. But first the garden. John has been so busy. Too busy for his age but he doesn't let that slow him down.

Be careful of the stakes out here. And honeybees. Everything else is good. Help yourself to ripe figs, blackberries, anything else that calls to you. The chimney swifts are about to make their dive into our chimney. We can watch them circle and gather in as they prepare to dive in; we wake up to the hungry chatters of the babies in the living room. 

John has the misters on over the blueberries. Ah, that feels cool, doesn't it? Now I'll just be quiet and let you look. Maybe point out the names of things if I can remember them.

This is some kind of giant blackberry that wants to take over. John keeps it nice and tidy though.

Soon we'll have corn.

I'm shocked at how quickly fig trees grow. This green fig is our early girl. The black fig that we love comes much later. One is juicy and the other is drier; both of them voluptuous.

I believe we have a Grand Sasso tomato here. It looks like a lady's purse, gathered up tightly so nothing is lost. The queen of tomatoes at our house.

The humble zuchinni that gives us both fruit and flowers for recipes from south of the border. We like to make the skins into fettucine; lots of dark green vitamins for health and strength.

This tidy little flowerbed provides us with herbs as well as salvias for the hummingbirds and bees. Lots of insect and bird activity here.

Lots of varieties of peppers, I think this is jalapeño. John handles all the chopping of peppers so I only for sure recognize serrano. 

Amaranth. Makes a great ink and provides seeds for birds. My friends in Mexico dip it in beaten egg whites and gently fry it then cover with a delicious chili sauce. 

Wow, that was a long tour. Now for something different; I've made a video for those of you who love to play with art supplies. Nothing serious or hard; just a bit of journal fun cutting and painting and pasting as we love to do.

The password for the video is summerfun