A trip to Bountiful - via the garden

In my last post I mentioned a busy life, there is always something that needs doing and I think we have that in common. We all have our own busy and pressing matters, to-doing, running hither and yon, etc. Part of my busy this Summer was the garden, not bad as pressing matters go really. Ultimately satisfying and very delicious, still sometimes you just can't figure out how to get it all done. You see, when a garden comes on, it often comes on all at once!

This Summer we had record breaking heat, which resulted in our first bumper crop of tomatoes in years. So far we have harvested about 50 pounds of heirloom tomatoes from 3 plants. Amazing and so tasty, yet a bit overwhelming. Oh but look at those beauties! Nothing like a fresh tomato from the garden. Oh, and the chilies, good gravy we have roasted a lot of chilies this summer!

We also grew tomatillos, An experiment really - that ended up combining nicely with the chilies to make some tomatillo salsa. Oh Summer in the garden...

And now we have figs. So many figs! Our tree is drooping under the weight of their sweet soft goodness. I have been inviting passers-by to help themselves as I still have fig preserves in the larder from last year. Figs coming out of my ears I tell you!

Lastly, our new brood of backyard chickens have at last laid an egg! A teeny tiny egg sure, but no less exciting. I haven't sussed out which one is the layer of said egg yet. So looking forward to having fresh eggs again. Hooray!

So concludes this episode of "In The Garden." Are you growing anything?

In my next post you might actually get to see a spot of sewing, will wonders never cease?

Where in the world is Lola?

Here I am!

As it turns out, I was not abducted by Aliens, I did not join the witness protection program, nor did the zombie apocalypse begin in the Northwest United States. I've been here all along. You know, just relishing in the abundance of life! That's just one way of saying, "Oh good gravy, life is non-stop action!" 

I'll just do the highlights:

The fruit must be obeyed:

When the "Hoods" come on (Mt. Hood, Oregon Strawberry variety), you have no choice but to drop everything and scoop them up. This old fashioned variety is small in size, quite perishable, and the best tasting strawberry you will ever have! To not immediately run out and make a quadruple batch of low sugar jam, would be tantamount to blasphemy and lead to painful regret and despair. We also ate them fresh and I had enough to try out my new dehydrator making fruit leather.

I really wish this was a scratch-n-sniff picture. So good!

Then came the raspberries. These from our own small patch. It seems my worry over my pruning job this winter was unfounded. They have come on like gangbusters! Fresh handfuls of just picked raspberries are the preferred method of consumption. Still,we had enough to make a small batch of jam, freeze a few pints and they are still going strong.

And there were the cherries! Having never grown cherries and having inherited one sweet and one sour variety when we bought this house; I did some research. I was a bit surprised that the trees were already dropping fruit (a sunnier spring than normal?). So we picked the first go-round. Being a bit canned out, I dried this first batch to use later. The second picking may see some canning of chutney and possibly a cherry Brandy.

There's this kid:

She ended 3rd grade and is moving on to a bigger school next year. We had a week of celebratory classroom community fun. She had a great teacher this year,a lot of challenges, and was ever unflinchingly herself. I am so proud and madly in love with this girl!

And this:

Go on! Get a kitten, you know you want to! Pure joy. No trouble, no trouble at all.

xo

Greetings and Salutations!

Well hello, long time no see! It was a long and arduous journey this last month or so, and busy, busy, busy!
Once we got the bulk of our lives moved to the new place, then the heavy work began to get The little Green Cottage into shape for market. Scrubbing, painting, landscaping, replacing windows, etc. We worked long and hard and finally said our last goodbye to the old place. So long old friend, it was a good run!

Meanwhile, over at the new house...
There hasn't been much unpacking or making our own just yet, there just hasn't been time. We have spent everyday and evening in the back yard though. The new garden is a gift that keeps giving, and while I am a bit nervous about the amount of maintenance my new "park" is going to require, we are in love!

We discovered that our apple tree is a Gravenstein, an old fashioned variety that I have loved from my childhood. It is an early apple with a very short season and shelf life, but the flavor is amazing.  When we got the keys to the new place, most of the apples were already on the ground, but I couldn't let them go to waste. So I salvaged what I could and made applesauce, delicious! So, first week in the new place and I was already canning!

We also have been snacking daily on the raspberries that just started coming on when we moved in. I do love a bowl full of fresh berries with my afternoon tea!

Pasta and Caprese salad have been devoured made from the abundant basil and some gorgeous tomatoes from the new garden too.

The latest food source comes from a giant old tree and since we haven't yet purchased a fruit picker thinger, we have to wait for them to fall to the ground. Yummy Bartlett Pears!

In the front garden, we have figs coming on as well as a bumper crop of Delicata squash. Next year we shall have 2 varieties of cherries and blueberries to pick as well, plus whatever we decide to plant in the well appointed vegetable beds. So you can see, that though we may have no living room nor dining room furniture, we will not go hungry!

We (by we, I mean the engineer and a friend) did manage to put up a new coop for the girls. Lots of re-use, reclaimed materials were put to good work and the new place is very fine indeed.

Oh, and lest I forget, we also have a fancy pants fountain in the new garden!

As for getting my crafty on, it will have to wait. I have some walls I need to bash down and a whole heck of a lot of painting before my studio is ready for business.

So nice to visit with you all again. Things may be a bit spotty in this space until school starts, but I am back!

Have a wonderful weekend all!
xo