In the Garden

While I was hanging laundry this morning I snapped a few pictures of the flowers in my garden. I have no idea where the purple morning glory came from but I love it. As the seeds in the sunflowers ripen their heads dip down to the ground a few of them have already been taken. I have also noticed a bunch of tomatoes getting ripe and I hope I will get to them before the squirrels do. When I took the pictures of the morning glories I got checked out by a hummingbird.

The forecast for this week shows temperatures in the lower 80s, total bliss. I hope to get my big colorful crochet blanket finished.

After the Storm

Around the garden

Meet the cheekiest bunny ever. He/she is not the least bit intimidated by me standing on the stairs and taking pictures. Those carrot tops must be yummy. And it is a very good bunny too, only takes one mouthful from each plant. And I have to apologize to the bunny, it is actually the squirrels who are stealing the tomatoes.

Feline Friday

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This Week in My Kitchen - Blog Hop

I love food and I love cooking and I am having a lot of fun visiting all the lovely kitchens in this blog hop.

So, without further delay, here are some highlights from another week in my kitchen, which is always the busiest on weekends.

Joining Heather

 

 

 From the garden.

 

 

Bread and Butter Pickles.

 

 Pizza with bacon and yellow tomatoes.

 

Peaches from the farmer's market and another Peachberry Buckle (I love the combination of winter spices and summer fruit).

What I am working on

I have to admit, I am not good at taking breaks. So here it goes. I am trying to finish this blanket this week, but I ran out of the red yarn. I actually ran out of purple and green yarn as well, but there was so little left to do ( half a round and one round) with these two that I could substitute with the yellow. The red one however ran out in the middle of the square. Now I have to wait until I find another ball of it. I don't really want to order it online and pay shipping, but the only remaining 'craft' store in town does no longer carry this yarn and I am not sure if the big store will have it. I hope they do. Meanwhile I amuse myself with crocheting the squares together (while binge watching "Eureka").

A Little Break

I am taking a little break.  I will be back soon.  All is well.

From the Garden

Feline Friday

Jackie on the pantry window

Miss Maggie playing computer games.

MamaCat enjoying the cool evening breeze.

This Week in My Kitchen - Blog Hop

I love food and I love cooking and I am having a lot of fun visiting all the lovely kitchens in this blog hop.

So, without further delay, here are some highlights from another week in my kitchen, which is always the busiest on weekends.

Joining Heather

From the Garden

Lunch for one.

 

A new batch of pickles, the first one is ready to move to the fridge.

Couscous with herbs, tomatoes and feta.

Sunday Lunch. I was sorting through my collected recipes and came across a 'Cuban-Style Chicken'. I tweaked the recipe a bit (I added garlic, hot sauce, cumin, a little orange juice and sugar to the beans, I also skipped the cilantro and kept the rice plain) and it turned out quite tasty.

From the Garden

I caught the tomato thief this morning, red eared so to say, but since he is just so stinkin' cute I did not even chase him away. One of the bunnies was making himself at home between the tomato buckets. And he just moved away a little bit when he saw me and then just sat and ignored me while I was lecturing him about not stealing my tomatoes. Reminds me of my cats. Anyway, my life does not depend on one tomato more or less but his just might, so he (and his family) is welcome to them.

Here are the things I picked recently.

Happy Bastille Day!

Summer Morning

Around the Garden

Something weird is going on in my garden. A volunteer sunflower that had sprung up in the cucumbers was beheaded and the head disappeared and I found a not quite ripe tomato over among the azaleas half eaten. Another tomato had been knocked off the plant but was still in the bucket. I think since there no longer are any cats in our garden (the girls moved in with us, the guys wandered off and I no longer put food out) we have a lot more wildlife than we used to. All the strawberries disappear as well just shortly before they are ready to be picked. This morning I scared off at least 4 squirrels when I went out to refill the bird feeder and a small grey furry thing was running around in the stuff under the feeder. My guess is it was a shrew since it tried to burrow into the ground, a mouse would have just scurried off. And we have more cardinals in our back yard than they have in the Vatican. Our birds had a very successful breeding season this year, we even have two young towhees. And they provide endless entertainment for our cats. The garden is doing well now and the veggies are coming in. I am already making plans for next year.