June 29th

Please let this turmoil and strife

settle down.

I won't politicize any of my personal

views, I'm just praying for peace,

like this little guy.

☮☮☮

🙏

******************

So, in our little corner of the world

it feels like I'm on an endless loop of

"Groundhog Day".

Same thing every day.

Get up, make the bed then make breakfast.

Then piddle around with something

like the laundry, or cleaning up, or

reading, or the garden....

Then before you know it,

it's time for lunch.

We usually eat a sandwich or maybe leftovers.

Afterward I clean up the lunch dishes.

Maybe then I'll get back to whatever I left unfinished.

Then it'll be time to make dinner.

Same cycle, every day.

Not really a complaint.

I'm glad we're not sick and we can

still do the things we need to do.

Anyhoo....

As the days get hotter and muggy,

it takes an effort to get out in the garden.

Several of the tomato plants have died

off, but their replacements are about 

ready to plant.

Bell Peppers

Brussels sprouts

I cut them off the stalk then wash them.

Then I prepare them for freezing.

We cut them in half, and put enough

for the 2 of us into a plastic ZipLoc

bag with a dash of balsamic vinegar,

a bit of garlic powder, some olive oil 

and chopped red onions. 

Then freeze the portions.

When I need some, I just take out a

packet, dump it onto a foil lined

pan and bake. 

Simple.

Cucumber

These are enormous!

I sliced up 2 of them with some of the

red onions and cherry tomatoes.

The CEO likes to eat them with

a raspberry vinaigrette.

What a great salad!

It's good to be able to eat what 

we grow and know that

its fresh with no pesticides.

Part of the harvest from the last 2 weeks

Some of the tomatoes are

being dehydrated so I can

use them throughout the year

in salads, my herbal blend, sauces

and oils.

🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

And yet another focaccia bread

with fresh veggies.

All I do is use a pre-packaged

refrigerated pizza dough,

roll it out and let it rise a bit.

Next, I sprinkle my herbal blend and a

bit of olive oil and press it into the dough

with the tips of my fingers, and let it rise again.

Then I place the veggies like a 

still life.

This one has: fresh tomatoes, onions, bell

peppers, celery, basil, sage and oregano.

Then bake as per package directions.

When it's done, we slice it with a pizza cutter.

Tastes great served with our salads.

Simple.

(Simple is my mantra!!)

My overgrown herbs.

I'm behind on drying them because

the tomato crop was so big.

We have 2 dehydrators that were

going almost every day, and we still 

had a bunch the we were able to give away.

Great to be able to share.

I make several types of herbal blends.

I do a mexican flavored one with cilantro

parsley and oregano and 

an italian one with oregano, basil, thyme,

parsley and dried tomatoes.  Then there's the

herbal one with a bunch of different flavors.

I also do a mint and stevia blend for tea.

*********************

Stargazer Lily

I don't usually cut flowers to bring inside

but,

it was raining hard and I was afraid

they'd get beaten down in the downpour.

Problem is....

they stink!

The CEO calls them Stink Lilies.

They smell a bit like urine.

Not fair that something so beautiful

smells soooo bad.

😝

Lantana.

Up close, you can see that they are

actually 3 different colors on the 

same bush.

The butterflies and bees love these.

*********************

Ethel is getting

some one-on-one time with the 

Chicken Whisperer

After the girls have pecked through

whatever morsels of feed they

prefer, the CEO sweeps up all the

picked over chicken feed

(because our girls are spoiled rotten)

 and 

puts it in a bucket to bring

to the small park near our home.

There are a lot of water fowl as well as

chickens and feral rabbits, that

love the feed.

Avoid giving them bread.

It's ok for a few small pieces, but

as a predominate diet,

it causes their gullets to swell

and causes an inability to get 

needed nutrients. 

It's like eating only junk food

for humans.

***************

And,

I leave you with

a bouquet of

wishes.....

May all of them come true!

💗