guess I should have done this YESTERDAY! (LOL)

Exciting, I know!

Waiting for garlic to sprout in front bed, onions to sprout in back left bed, accompanied by some cover crop thrown in, leeks & chard in the back right bed

Below is what I love about fall, the ornamental grasses take on a neat glow with the winter sun.

This was the 15 minutes I spent "contemplating" what to do first.

It was quite nice outside, temps around 60º and the sun finally came out after 2 weeks!

Below, I can't remember what this is - some sort of impulse buy, but I do believe it needs to come in the house.

Geraniums were cut way down about 6 weeks ago, and showing lots of new growth so they will be coming inside as well this week. This will be the 2nd winter that I brought this pot inside.

Apparently I haven't been using this chair & patio often enough, the cosmos have claimed it!

The 1st pea blossom of fall! These are the edible podded variety, Oregon Sugar Pod II, I am done with shelling peas, we never get enough to save for winter. I only have one bed of them, but there's only 3 of us so I hope to have at least enough to freeze for winter stir-frys.

Below, cauliflower not doing anything yet... and Brussels Sprouts (yuck!), just growing for some fall height interest in the beds and for the experience? LOL

A little corner of the greens bed is all scallions and parsley, I use this corner of the bed for cooking all winter long! Just seeded some more scallions today. Parsley does EXTREMELY well here all winter, last year I had some parsley that was 3 feet tall and not bolting! Bonus is that I don't have to share it with the Black Swallowtail caterpillars in the fall & winter.

Today's harvest: Pak Choy, Piracicaba Broccoli, Lettuce, a few remaining raspberries, and grabbed some rosemary, thyme, parsley & marjoram for tonight's dinner... I'll find out shortly how many uninvited dinner guests are in the broccolini.

Finn took a photo of me preparing "the bird" tonight - he was up close but I told him "get out of here, nobody wants to look at raw poultry"... apparently he took a photo anyway!

This is the earliest I have ever gotten a seed catalog for the next year. Give me a break, at least for awhile! I threw it on the stack of magazines still waiting to be read from this summer when I was too busy!

See, I really DO have a garden - I'm not a "poser", it's just not doing anything right now. I will be excited when I see more blossoms on those peas, however. It's always iffy in the fall - if it doesn't get too cold we'll have a better crop than spring with no pests or fungus or yucky stuff, but if we get a really cold spell - it was all for nothing. That's what happened last year!

I may have mentioned it, too lazy to look back - but last night we had country fried steak, mashed potatoes (ours!) & gravy and the boys ate like Minnesota farm kids! Each had 2 helpings and 2 glasses of milk. I'm afraid to think what it will be like when they are teenagers.

I purposely withheld snacks today thinking they might do the same tonight and eat some of our fresh broccoli, there isn't much, but I don't expect they would eat more than a little piece.

Tonight is chicken on the rotisserie, rubbed with fresh herbs and garlic, fresh broccoli, and standard box rice... I'm hoping to make chicken soup with all the leftovers tomorrow, a whole bird is kind of overkill for the 3 of us!

Finally - Tomatoes and Lettuce at the same time!

This morning when I went out to harvest the yard long beans, I noted there was a red tomato also waiting for me! I have been tomato-less for about a month already, so this was nice. I ripped out all but one plant in a container that was still lush and healthy. It had blossom drop all season but now is covered with 8 green tomatoes! The ink has faded on my marker but from it's blackish appearance I think it's either an Heirloom Vorlon or Paul Robeson, and a small one at that!

The yard long beans/Chinese Long beans are producing like mad! All these weeks/months of harvesting came from 6 seeds grown on the same arch, 3 planted on each side. Actually 4 or 5 since they didn't all make it past the seedling stage.

Also in the above pic are the first Cascade Hops harvested! It's only the 1st year of das Biergarten so I wasn't expecting much from the rhizomes quite yet but its exciting nontheless! They will be preserved by freezing the whole cones and used for dry-hopping a later brew. There are hundreds of cones out there still waiting, but many this year are too small to be of any use, and some are being eaten by insects. Since year 1 is kind of a watch and wait year, I'm not worried but it appears they will need spraying next year on a schedule similar to the fruit trees.

Above & below: took some time out of the party prep schedule to blanch and freeze the yard beans and the remainder of the corn. Not much corn, but 2 dinners worth in the freezer is better than none!

And the most amazing thing that happened today: Tomatoes & Lettuce at the same time! Tonight was taco night and since I had a fresh tomato and no need to keep it for saucing, I happily chopped it and thought "sure would be nice to have some lettuce"... so I actually just took an entire seedling from the raised bed and tore it up LOL. I am in shock, due to the heat here I haven't had fresh greens since early May!!!! Of course the seeds are sprouting now, but at the rate I'm stealing entire 3 inch tall plants I will have to sow more on a daily basis :)

Not much lettuce, but it sure was good!

It wasn't supposed to be this way!

Yes, I'm talking about "my" weekend! I should have known better than to think that I could go see a movie, or any of the other things I had planned for myself! Here's how Friday went:

Kids were sooooo excited to go to camp, and I was too. Got them all packed, even left a half hour early so compensate for any Friday afternoon traffic! Didn't go as planned. We got stuck in traffic immediately on the on-ramp by an accident and it just spiraled downward from there. Our metro area is basically an island, you have to take a tunnel or bridge to get anywhere so you can imagine the bottlenecks that can happen even on a good day. Today traffic was completely stopped and we spent an hour inside the tunnel in 100 degree heat with all the traffic fumes in the tunnel. I am used to tunnels, but normally we speed through at about 45-55 mph, but let me tell you, being stuck in one is kind of creepy. It's underwater in the Chesapeake Bay and there was an oil tanker above us so I kept thinking about that, LOL! So anyways, we left at 3 pm and check-in for camp was between 5-6 pm. We got there at 6:18 pm!! That's almost 3 1/2 hours in the car to go about 95 miles! As soon as we pulled in, 2 college girls flagged us down and said "are you Loch & Finn?, we're glad you made it, we heard about the traffic!". It's amazing how short a distance away it can be to find small-town friendliness again. They took us to the kids' cabin, and although the other kids had already headed to the dining hall, one of their counselors was sitting on one of the bunks waiting for them! Typical, cute Virginia Tech student (remember being in summer camp, girls?!) doing his summer employment - someone should tell him to soak it up, 'cause the real world will start soon LOL! I pretty much dropped them and left, no time for the kids to show me around, they can do that when I pick them up. Loch has been before, but this is Finn's first time and I was a little worried about him since he is not as independent as Loch, but as I drove away he yelled "Bye Mommy! Luv you! See ya later!"... I guess he's okay!

Finally arriving at camp!

View outside the kids' cabin

Finn & Loch (in orange) walking with their counselor off to the dining hall

So I didn't get back home until 8:15 pm! By the time I fed the dogs and got settled, it was clearly too late to go see 'Eclipse' like I wanted to, so I settled for reading a book and watching a survival show on Discovery.... hmmmm, that's the same thing I would do if the kids were still here.

Today I got caught with another big harvest, and I hardly even touched the jalapeno bed, those are needing my attention, too. I am headed to a BBQ tonight (across another tunnel!) for my gardening & homesteading meetup group, so the rest of the day today was spent harvesting, making food, and driving again LOL!

Today's harvest was used for the potluck dish for the BBQ. It has a theme: "Catch It, Kill It, Grow It, Brew It"! Since I had so many tomatoes I am going to make Caprese Salad along with some Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread and bring along some of the Homebrew.

Caprese Salad with a Basil Vinegarette Dressing

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Yikes, I made a lot!

This is the basil vinegarette

... and now it's time to leave again and go to the BBQ, it should be fun, plenty of new people to meet and good food to try, I just hope the traffic is okay. Unfortunately, this is a huge tourist area and while we are all trying to flee the area, crazy people mostly with Jersey plates thinking only of the beach are headed in to back up the freeways!

Hopefully, I will be back early enough tonight to finish my book! Then it's up early again to go pick up the kids tomorrow morning. They have a skit that they do and I want to make sure I'm there in time to see it! I know this camp is short, but I am just glad there is a sleepaway camp for such young kids, it's good for them! In a few years they will be old enough for a whole week, yay!

I have the feeling maybe I heaped my plate too full in the garden this year, it seems that I just can't find the time to "do nothing"!

No work done today

I just heard on the 5:00 news that our heat index is 106 right now... am I getting used to it or just losing my mind? It's hot out, but to me it doesn't seem as bad as it was before, even though temps are the same. I could tell the humidity was bad however since at 5 pm I had to wipe down my camera lens before every shot, and still a bunch came out foggy! I only went into the garden today to take photos and check on the melons, then it was right back into the house - I didn't even glance at those jalapenos!

Here's what's going on now:

Everybody loves fennel! I have caterpillars of every different instar stage on my fennel, I stopped counting at 53, and that was only one plant! I can't even imagine how many are on the other fennel, dill and parsley plants. The butterfly weed is already constantly being visited by beautiful huge Swallowtails, I hope to have the camera handy next time. Speaking of, this morning while watering I saw a Hummingbird Moth at rest just chilling out on the peanut plants - ran in, got the camera, of course he was gone when I got back!

Honeybee! This is very exciting this year. We have always had loads of bumbles and mason bees, but never honeybees, even though my yard is the only yard planted out for almost 1/2 sq mile! This year - they found me! I couldn't be happier. Of course now I have to teach the kids to step carefully around the clover, they are used to the bumbles which pay them no mind and the Masons which are clumsy and cannot sting!

Look closely, 1st instar stage!

Jump for joy! It's greens! I haven't been able to grow them since early May thanks to the heat. Even my heat tolerant lettuce blends said "no, thanks". On a whim I planted out some Mizuna which apparently tolerates some heat (I didn't believe it!). Germination in about 6 hours, I forgot how darn fast that stuff is! I am letting it sun in the morning, and covering with shade the rest of the day in hopes of a salad for my tomatoes. Better get out there and thin...

UFO's are coming fast and strong now, but still not the top ones that look different

4th of July Hybrid has been a steady producer and has done well in a container in the heat

These mini yellow Stuffing Peppers look like lollipops! I love how they all grow upside down like a bouquet with all the peppers on top. This looks like alot, but I am hoping to make mass quantities of stuffed (with rice, etc) and freeze - they are meatball sized, so I am hoping they will be like premade dinners, just pour tomato sauce over the top and bake.

That's the plan, anyways LOL

Planted Japanese Climbing Cucumbers June 10th, they are now flowering and looks like they are doing okay with insects so far... I threw zinnias or something in there too, that's the other thing you see. Funny how slowly flowers grow in seed trays but go crazy direct seeded. These were planted 1 month ago and you can barely see to the right of Marley's ear one lavender bloom that opened tonight!

Cosmos self seeded last year all over the place - I have a 6 ft wire fence and they are above that!

Still not ready.... maybe I'm checking too much - is 10 times a day too often?!

Easy garden dinner tonight! Scrambled eggs w/cheese & salsa made last night, strawberry jam

Tonight's the Night...

Yes, I think tonight will be the big night for the first UFO!

How AM I going to get that thing outta there?!

Below is a photo of the UFO Tomatoes, they are really getting tall, that is me reaching as high as I can next to them!

This morning I got a little accomplished before the humidity and heat drove me back inside. I was able to replant some beds with more beans, cilantro, dill, lettuces (I keep trying), and a couple of hills of small pie pumpkins. I should still have enough time in the season to get the pumpkins in time to brew our Harvest Pumpkin Ale and freeze some for pumpkin bread in the winter. I still need to rip out and replant the "green roof", and prune one of my Crepe Myrtle trees that is completely blocking one of my garden paths, but that will have to wait until evening, but truth be told, I am hoping it will rain today and I won't have to go back out!

Photos from the garden this morning, good, bad & ugly in no particular order:

Note: Orange Wellington hybrid tomato does really well in a container!

Sugar Baby Bush Watermelon containers, cosmos are starting to take over the area, though!

Planted Japanese Climbing Cucumbers in this bed just 2 weeks ago, already out of control!

Now get ready to have a good laugh...

My "cornfield" in the shade experiment! It's pathetic! About 18" high and believe it or not, has tiny ears on it LOL! I just shake my head and laugh when I see it every day, it's right next to my shed. I left my radio on out there this morning, maybe they will grow more if they have some tunes to listen to. Here's the description of it for an extra laugh:

Corn, Early Sunglow Hybrid

Best early variety, thrives in cool weather.

Garden-fresh sweet corn is summer's greatest pleasure. A packet contains enough for four 15 ft rows. Seeds are not treated. Extra-early, uniform ears are about 7 inches long with 12 rows of deep kernels. Stalks yield 2 ears. Best early variety, thrives in cool weather. Height 4 to 4½ ft. Proven tops for productivity, flavor and wide adaptability. Ready to harvest in 63 days.

Ears 7" long? LOL... and cool weather? what was I thinking?!

More laughs above. This is my Asparagus bed. The one I dug out by hand all day by myself, even bothered to fence in from the dogs... I kind of forgot about it! So now it's a bed of Sassafras, grass, and miscellaneous weeds! Should have planted that stuff in the green roof, it might still be green!

This is just plain redneck!

I swore I would not buy any more stuff for my garden except seeds for fall. I have more than my fair share of "stuff" in my shed to create things from, and this is what ensued! These are my bean and Edamame beds, and this is actually working to keep the Mockingbird out. I caught him red handed yesterday morning hopping around eating tops off my beans. I sent Sprocket the "Outback Jack" after him and then she was in there messing up my bed too! We made up our own breed for her, she's half Jack Russell, half Australian Shepherd, and the only Aussie in her is her coloring, other than that she is a complete terrier-terror to all vermin in the yard! So while my setup is ugly, it's working. It can come down in a couple of days, the birds don't bother the beans once they get their 2nd set of leaves.

In case you are wondering, this is what an Outback Jack looks like! Yeah, we can't figure it out either...

Sprocket the wonder girl

Really?!

I am really hoping my grapes make it to harvest this year, last year I put paper bags on all the bunches and the mockingbirds still got to them!

Don't you love the fact that the garden can provide delicious junk food, too?

Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Cilantro, Chives & Homebrew

I walked outside with this yumminess last night and my neighbor said she wouldn't be surprised to see me milking a cow in my backyard and making my own cheese for the nachos, too - hmmm, not sure if that was a compliment or not LOL!

Speaking of last night, this is what the kids looked like when I arrived to pick them up at the "Y" from Parents Night Out! While I am glad they had fun, this means I had to spend a half hour scrubbing them down at 10 pm before bed!

I will be hiding out from the heat all day, but hope to post about that tomato very soon...!

"Peanuts, Pizza & Big Bugs!"

It's Week 12 of kinderGARDENS, time for an update!

"The Green Roof" - not so much, 100+ degree temps have pretty much cooked everything in the rooftop planter except a bean plant.

Apparently it's not too hot for "Mockers" our evil mockingbird to make a nest there!

The kids' Peanut Box is doing very well! Not that surprising since that is a cash crop here in our sandy soil and hot temps, it's just fun since we have never thought to try them before. If anyone is interested, they are a very tidy looking garden plant and appear to not be bothered by any insects!

Yellow flowers are the peanut blossoms apparently. They will eventually develop "pegs" which will flop down to soil level where the peanuts will grow from.

The kids' garden, mom wasn't allowed to plant here, but they did a great job. They decided on Butterfly Weed along with some other miscellaneous stuff they stole from my flats. I see petunias, sunflowers, Bells of Ireland (dead), and some blanketflower I think.

See the Smiley Face?

We have been so busy enjoying cooler weather that we have been working and playing non stop in the yard and I haven't had time to cook proper meals, so I made a cruddy W@lM@rt pizza into something lovely with the addition of our tomatoes and basil!

Turned out pretty well! It's nothing like Daddy's homemade thin crust pizzas, but ooops, I never bothered to pay attention to him when he makes the dough - I thought that was me being smart that way I never had to cook on pizza night - that worked out fine until he deployed!

Kids are having fun with THESE GUYS! Awesome "DogDay Cicadas"... they are everywhere right now. I know some people hate the noise, but I love how loud they get in the evening. It drowns out the thundering FA-18's as they roar over the house!

Mr. Dog Day Cicada

If you or your kids have these guys and want to know more, I found an article with some good pictures here! I admit they are pretty fun to play with!

I have so much going on in the yard, but no time to write as of now.... suffice it to say temps have been 78-80 degrees for 3 days, NO humidity, and cool nights in the lower 60's... my windows are open enjoying an evening breeze. Hard to believe we spent the last few weeks in a virtual steam oven. Temps are to return to that on Monday, but for now we are busy enjoying. Tonight is forecast for 58 degrees so I am thinking about setting up the tent and camping with the kids in the garden. We'll play "flashlight" and listen to cicadas! Oh, I can't wait until they are old enough for "real" scary stories!