July 23rd

This is a sunflower from last year.

The one's we grew this year were small

but still cute. I really love sunflowers.

They scream summer to me.

Speaking of summer...

As you can see, it's 82 degrees,

about to rain but still feels like

91 degrees!

Yep, it's hot!

I was going out to weed the around the veggies,

but decided against that for now.

I almost said "fixin' to go out to weed".

😁

It reminded me of the uniquely southern

sayings that come second nature to me.

Like, "Bless your heart". 

That phrase can be complimentary 

or derogatory, depending on the situation,

but it's always polite.

Then there's "used to could" - meaning 

once upon a time I was able to...

How about when you can't remember the 

name for something and call it a 

"dookickey", "thingamajig" or "Whatchamacallit"

Or, when you are speaking to someone

who knows "diddly squat"?

Here are a few my Mom used often.

This one was reserved for

 when we tried to cut something.

"Don't use the good scissors!"

Then with impending bad weather, "It's 

blowing up a storm out there!".

And if you weren't listening, she'd say 

"I'll beat knots on your head!",

but she never followed through.

"Ya'll are a day late and a dollar short"

when we didn't know something

that we clearly should have.

And 

my personal favorites....

"If you're going out, put on clean underwear."

"Make sure you have car fare"

(This was in case we had to catch a bus)

 but I never questioned it.

because that's what Southern Mama's said.

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Genovese Basil with its purple flowers

Globe Basil with white flowers

Thai Basil with very dark purple flowers

All Basil plants taste mostly the same.

Basil tends to have a slight anise flavor

that compliments tomato sauces. 

The flowers have a more subtle flavor.

We dehydrate the leaves and the flowers

for our herbal blends.

Zucchini

No buds yet, but we're watching closely.

Cantaloupe

Watermelon

Gigantic Cucumbers

and

2 orange Bell Peppers.

The cukes will be eaten in salads

and the peppers will be cut up and 

added to onions and olive oil. Then

poured into an ice tray to freeze for 

use later. The olive oil never actually

freezes, it just gets firm. Then I toss a 

couple of cubes into whatever dish 

I'm cooking. 

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Scarlet Geraniums

These flowers are edible.

I sometimes eat them in a salad.

Chrysanthemums

Gardenias

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🐔

The CEO bought crickets as a treat

for the girls.

Hazel seems satisfied.

Lucy got her fill too.

Nugget and Pepper are still

scoping out potential

cricket escapees.

Ethel is already in the coop.

She's broody and only comes out

for food and water.

But, believe me, she'll never miss a treat!

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🐦

This is a mark from a Mourning Dove

that crashed into the kitchen bay window.

you can see the head and wing.

He's fine, just a bit shook up, but

this has been happening more and more.

We've ordered a prism to hang in the window,

to reflect light.

A website said that it might work by scaring

the birds away.

We also found a dead sparrow on the patio

last week after I heard an unusually loud

crash into the window.

Hope this helps.

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💗