The cool wet Spring gave us the lush greens of June. But July is the height of our hot arid season and the fields and hillsides are now a dry, brittle tan. The thermometer states the temperature today is 95° and it remain remain hot as all get out this week.
White Tail Deer browsing on Hawthorne leaves
The deer will even hop into the pastures thinking they will get something good to eat.
But our pastures are as barren as can be. No amount of watering will help them now. In Spring the pastures were full of knee high grass.
We have a wonderful productive spring that is used to water the garden and the orchard. Thankfully that spring never runs dry and the fruit, vegetables and flowers are thriving. That wagon full of Petunias was a gift from my parents to my son almost 40 years ago. It still has purpose!
Sparky’s vegetables are coming in nicely! He has Green and Yellow beans, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, more Tomatoes and even more Tomatoes! Onions, Acorn Squash, Patty pan Squash, Zucchini and Yellow Squash as well as various Lettuces. I finished freezing the English Peas today. Gosh….they were terrific! Pop them in your mouth straight from the garden. So sweet! Way more than any 2 people can eat. We will be donating to friends, neighbors and our food pantry.
Yellow Squash
Pickling Cucumbers. My favorite kind!
Cherry Tomatoes. Some will be in a salad tonight!
This silly Robin seems to be pointing “Over there. The birdbath is over there!”
See those huge leaves? They are hiding large Horseradish roots and this might be a life time supply of Horseradish!
I’m in charge of Herbs mainly because I love both growing them and using them. This is Sage. I gave lots of Sage to a friend who owns a wonderful restaurant in town. Crystal is making a pasta sauce with it.
Basil! My all time favorite Herb. Unless we’re talking about Thyme and Rosemary because they are also my favorites! I made several jars of Pesto this year.
This Rosemary will continue to grow through October but will not winter over. I will cut it into sprigs and freeze it for use this winter.
I was hoping that the Dill and Green Beans would synchronize their growing so I would have fresh Dill for Dilly Beans to can. But the Dill is ready and the Beans are not. Some day I will get it all together.
Dan is mighty proud of his Raspberries! This is their first productive year and I have enough for a batch of Jam today. *** Note the fashionable “berry picking can.” It has holes poked in the sides so a string can be threaded through and tied around your waist.
Looks as if this year will again give us a bumper crop of Pears. These are Bartlett Pears which are delicious for eating out of hand and for canning. Our 2 trees give us several bushels of Pears!
We also grow Apples and Italian Plums and both are prolific producers. Again, we give away lots of fruit to friends and neighbors as well as the food pantry. We love growing our own food and we love sharing it with others.
The Sunflowers are just for fun, and birds and the bees. Plus, who can not help but smile when faced with a giant Sunflower?
And this my friends is how we spend a majority of our July days. Growing, harvesting, freezing and canning wonderful fruits and vegetables. It is a lot of work but both of us love the fruits of our labors. Except when it is 95° and the Yellow Jackets and Bald Faced Wasps are out. Then, sometimes then, we thinks we’re a little nuts 🙂
I am so glad you stopped by today to share in our journey through Summer. Today, I wish you to know the deliciousness of home grown produce that was picked at 8am and on your table for dinner at 6pm. Nothing is more wonderful than you you grow yourselves or from a marvelous farmer’s market.
Thanks again for stopping by and until next time, Journey On!
Hugs and much love from me,
Karen, TJG
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