It’s been raining this week. Wednesday we enjoyed time in a tornado warning area, and probably got close to 3+ inches of rain. And Friday morning until noon it rained. So, there hasn’t been much opportunity to get into the garden.
This time of year is when the weeds race to flower and set seed, along with all the other plants. And I haven’t kept up with the weeding since I came back from my wonderful retreat, both because of the rain, and because, well, by this time of the season I’m tired of trying to pull weeds that come back faster than the heads of the Hydra. It’s almost like Whack-a-Mole with weeds, and there’s waaay more than one mole popping up.
I give up.
Back by popular demand (okay, one person asked to see the garden again. And the chickens. And the cat. 🙂 ), my lousy pictures of my weedy garden. Here ya go.
In a lot of ways, I’m not too worried about the weeds. The potatoes are dying back and ready to dig up. The onions are about ready to pull.
And tomatoes. So. Many. Tomatoes. I planted a bunch because we need to can tomatoes this year. I have 13 or 14 plants of paste tomatoes. None are ripe yet, and I can’t wait until that first BLT with a garden-ripe tomato, but I know once all the tomatoes start getting ripe all at the same time–yikes! The plants are also starting to die, falling victim to some fungus or something. Crossing my fingers the tomatoes ripen before the plants die.
After so many days not checking the zucchini and cucumbers, I expected to find a monster or two. I wasn’t disappointed. And the chickens were thrilled 🙂
One of the chickens stood still long enough for me to get a decent picture. They’re looking good, and should start laying eggs soon.
The borage is blooming like crazy now, and the bees have finally appeared to take advantage. Bees love borage, but I haven’t seen many around until the past few weeks. I saw bumblebees, honeybees, and mason bees, which are mostly black and don’t live in hives like honeybees do.
And the grand finale —
*crickets*
Um, well, I’m not sure where Zoey ran off to. I saw her yesterday hanging around the garden, but by the time I retrieved my iPad to take a picture, she was gone. So, here’s one from the recent archives (sorry if you’ve seen this one before):
This weekend, I have GOT to catch up on some household chores. I thought I saw a mouse just sitting in the corner–turns out it was a dust bunny. If I get my chores done today, I’ll have all day tomorrow to write!
Summer’s almost over, so enjoy it while you can. Today’s supposed to be warm and sunny, a far cry from the cloudy, rainy, cool, dreary yuck we’ve had for the past week or so. Don’t neglect to jot down a few words, maybe even a whole sentence about how much fun you’ve had this summer, or your big Labor Day plans. Me? Writing is always on my agenda. Depending on how many tomatoes are ripe by then, I expect canning will be on the list as well.
Have a great weekend, and Write On!
August 19, 2017 at 7:54 am
Thank you for your post and all pictures. I feel much better now as I was met with the same on my return from travel abroad.
I even said the words :” I give up” , you are much quicker than me. Where is that gardener…😊 . I had a whole wall of grapes though but not as many vegetables. Well done you.
miriam
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 6:08 am
LOL! Every year at this time of the season I get that feeling of “why bother, there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to catch up”, and the next thoughts are: “why do I torture myself every year” and “garden veggies taste SO good”. It’s harvest time, though, and I didn’t plant my second crop of spinach and kohlrabi like I wanted to, so I don’t feel too bad about throwing up my hands in defeat. 🙂 Have a great rest of your weekend, Miriam!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 19, 2017 at 9:56 am
Julie, your garden is becoming one of my season markers!! 😀😀 I see we’re soon heading into Autumn as your fruit and veg is ready to harvest. Oh, those tomatoes must taste delicious and wow, monster courgettes! Yummy…weeds add extra colour, don’t you think? I thought I might run with this theory for a while. It’s great to see the chickens and Zoey enjoying the peace, showing us all how simple life really is and to just relax! 😀❤️
LikeLiked by 2 people
August 20, 2017 at 6:12 am
LOL! I suppose I could look at the weeds as color accents 🙂 It’s just maddening how fast they take over this time of year. Part of me is excited for all the fresh veggies–yum! But part of me knows that once the tomatoes start getting ripe it won’t be long before the first freeze, which means winter is on the way. Not the biggest fan of winter, but I don’t have to maintain the garden, which means more time to write! Have a great rest of your weekend, Annika!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 19, 2017 at 12:53 pm
when the tomatos here ripen , Julie, i slice them, fry some garlic until they golden, then i pour the sliced, ripe tomatos into the pan and let it cook. I love fried tomatos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 6:14 am
Oooh, that sounds delicious! I might have to try that. I grew up eating tomatoes fresh from the garden sliced onto a plate with a little salt and pepper. Thanks for the idea!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 6:32 am
I love tomatos. I slice them onto every meal. sometimes i even spread some olive oil on a bread, slice tomatos over and salt. it tastes delicious. I’m a tomato fanatic!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 19, 2017 at 1:10 pm
Apparently, a garden your size doesn’t allow for writers’ retreats, Julie. But it looks productive despite the weeds. The onions look lovely and you’ve got some zucchini bread in the future. I hope your tomatoes make it (I gave up on tomatoes this year and didn’t even try). Writing season is around the corner, but enjoy the last of summer. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 6:24 am
LOL! At least my daughter went out to the garden once while I was away. I’m hoping the tomatoes ripen faster than they seem to be, but it’s been cool this summer, which doesn’t inspire them to get red with any haste. I tried to delay the whatever disease is attacking them (fusarium wilt?) by trimming the lower branches of the plants, but some of the plants look like they just threw up their hands and succumbed. Part of me can’t wait for the first freeze, which will take care of everything but the kale and Brussels sprouts (and maybe the beets). I’m planning a NaNo session for my WIP in Oct(?), or whenever the garden doesn’t need so much babysitting. Have a great rest of your weekend, Diana!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 10:09 am
It was a cool summer, except for two weeks when it was 105 degrees. *Sigh* I’m doing Nano this year. Can’t wait. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 19, 2017 at 2:50 pm
Julie, there is nothing better than a ripe tomato and cucumber from your own garden. Your garden is lovely and so much good stuff in it. Kudos to you for still canning tomatoes. I have memories of my mom doing it for years. Best wishes, Frances
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 6:28 am
Thanks, Frances! My mom used to can tomatoes every year, too, and make pickles. There’s nothing that compares to pulling a jar of homegrown tomatoes from the pantry and making a batch of chili or spaghetti sauce. I do pickles as well, but after the year of the pickle (I put up about 6 doz quarts of pickles that year), I haven’t made the “mistake” of planting more than one or two cucumber plants. There’s just too many of them! Thanks for stopping by and have a great rest of your weekend!
LikeLike
August 19, 2017 at 7:31 pm
I love the photos of your garden with all those delish veggies growing. And you are making me so hungry for a BLT!
We have been hammered with cloudbursts and SAVAGE storms almost daily. Thankfully, they tend to be short Another blew through tonight, right after we wrapped up grilling dinner (thank God for cell phones and weather apps).
I spent the day editing and writing, nowhere near where I need to be with word count on my WIP but plugging along. Tomorrow I will be back at it gain. Happy weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 6:34 am
LOL! The first BLTs with garden-ripe tomatoes are the best treats! This past week has been a wet one, and I can tell by the amount of bean plants and zucchini leaves rotting. I’m sure I’ve got slugs somewhere; they seem to proliferate in wet conditions. At least the storm came through *after* grilling 🙂
I need to get my butt in gear on my WIP. I had another plot breakthrough the other day when I was out picking green beans, but I haven’t drafted that into the WIP yet, maybe because it means rewriting chapter 1 yet again (feels almost like Groundhog Day). I could make notes and plan to rewrite it later, but the following few chapters set up the main story, so I’ll feel better if I can start off right, or as right as it feels at this stage.
Have a great rest of your weekend, Mae! And here’s my official request for updated Raven pics 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 9:18 am
Raven pics are going on the to-do list! 🙂
Isn’t it wonderful how we work through plot hurdles when we’re doing other things/ If it makes you feel any better I’ve had to go back and rewrite plot threads 3-4 times in my current WIP because of changes. One of the many problems of being a pantster, LOL.
Oh, and slugs—we were overrun with them one year. Slimy things!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 20, 2017 at 5:26 pm
Oh my goodness, Zoey is beautiful! i want to bury my fingers in her glorious fur. The other day we saw a dog waving it’s long-haired fluffy tail, and I told my kids I wanted to stick my face in the path of that tail. My ever-practical 12 yo was like, “You don’t know where that tail has been!” True, but I can’t avoid the fluffiness! Thanks for all the great pics. Your garden is still amazing, compared to ours–like, big time, weeds or no. I think our garden is so pathetic the weeds aren’t even interested in growing there. And the chickens are looking great. Happy zucchini eating for them. I know what you mean about needing to do some house cleaning. I’m feeling the same way around here; although, if I were you, I’d be mighty grateful that was a dust bunny and not a mouse!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 21, 2017 at 6:34 am
LOL! Never fear, if I start to miss mice (HA!) we continue to trap them in the basement (no live traps for those pests!) Caught yet another chipmunk over the weekend. AND found another hole chewed in the fence around the garden. Damn rabbits! Luckily the tomatoes seem to be unscathed for now. They’re starting to get ripe, now that we had a couple days of warmer (low 80s) weather. Going to be cooler again this week. I like the cool, but the tomatoes just don’t ripen as fast when it’s cool. Bonus, though: the zucchini and cucumbers don’t grow as fast either 🙂
LikeLike
August 21, 2017 at 10:44 am
Always pros and cons, I suppose, when different veg grow with different conditions. Oh, and ahem, did you get any uhh special reading done this weekend? Cough. Cough.
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 21, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Yes. I just haven’t had a chance to finish up. And I’m trying to find Einstein. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 21, 2017 at 1:22 pm
Haha. Nice. Way to prove you’re reading it. I was thinking of making up a quiz… Haha. Obviously joking. I’d like to read your book too. Or would you rather I waited? An autographed copy when it comes out sounds like a nice thing. I’ll pay extra for your signature. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 23, 2017 at 1:38 pm
Your garden is one of my season markers too. We definitely don’t get “real summer” in San Francisco, so I LOVE the pictures. Keep ’em comin’!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 23, 2017 at 2:17 pm
Glad you like these, Lauren! I’ll try to post only the “good” pics 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
August 27, 2017 at 9:25 am
Great post. Mouse? Dust bunny? I fear and loathe both in equal measure. Yup.
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 27, 2017 at 1:45 pm
LOL! I wrangled a few dust bunnies that weekend. Problem is, just like real bunnies, for every dust bunny you see, there’s a hundred more you don’t 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 27, 2017 at 2:42 pm
a few??? omg. That being said, I live in a pretty old house. Which means that the dust bunnies who currently reside here, think that I am actually scared of them. They are right. Yikes.
Sure! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 12, 2017 at 8:41 pm
The bee, the cat, and the chickens are all really cool! I enjoyed the free garden, I saw the dill, cucumbers and
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 13, 2017 at 7:00 am
LOL! Glad you enjoyed it, Reo! We dug potatoes over Labor Day weekend because my son was home from school, and I pulled the onions yesterday. Yikes! But they usually last through most of the winter (by about Feb or Mar the potatoes think it’s time to grow again).
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 14, 2017 at 6:21 pm
I am behind in my responding but when I was growing potatoes and other vegetables, I would keep them in my cool, dry basement. I am sure they grew roots or buds (spuds?) midway through the winter.
It is so wonderful to have memories of my own children who enjoyed being in 4H and raising bunnies (not to sell, just to be able to play with and “show.”) Have a wonderful weekend, Julie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 16, 2017 at 7:09 am
You too!
LikeLike
September 12, 2017 at 8:44 pm
Oops, cellphone and sleepy fingers.
The giant zucchini would be so delicious in bread, as raw slices in a salad and grilled in olive oil or butter. I have made alfredo zucchini lasagna, too. This was a mighty fine break for me, too. 🐔 🌱 🐓
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 13, 2017 at 7:02 am
I made zucchini bread at my daughter’s request–yum! And grilled–divine! I haven’t grilled any zucchini yet this season; I usually slice and saute it with onions and mushrooms. And alfredo zucchini lasagna sounds delish! Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 14, 2017 at 6:25 pm
You’re very welcome and the choices you carried through with zucchini sound perfect. I need to try mushrooms and onions with zucchini while sauteing. I use slices of zucchini instead of lasagna noodles. The recipe probably is duplicated on Pinterest or recipes online, Julie. They say red sauce is “better” for us but I think a splurge of cream and butter isn’t that “bad” since I skip the calories of beef. . . Smiles, Robin 🐦
LikeLiked by 1 person