And She’s Back

First off, thank you to those of you who commented on my putting the blog on hiatus. Your concern was touching and appreciated. Let me put your minds at ease. There was nothing wrong, really. I was just feeling a little uninspired and a little overwhelmed with life in general. You know the old adage, “Sometimes a change is as good as a vacation”? Well, that’s really what it came down to. The break was needed.

And now, I’m back. But where do I start? There has been some knitting, but really, it hasn’t been much at all. The big thing that’s occupying our time these days (besides work) is the garden. It is flourishing!

I could show you loads of pictures but I won’t… not today, at least. I will, however, show you some of the fruits of our labours.

The first of the raspberries and a few new potatoes; we picked just enough of the potatoes for a meal. They were delicious, even though I overcooked them slightly. Really, nothing tastes quite like food just picked and immediately cooked, is there? The raspberries are coming hard and fast now and we’re freezing everything we pick. Amazingly, we’re still eating last year’s raspberries.

S, who lives upstairs and is away for the entire month of July, has stated that she would love some of the raspberries to freeze, so when she gets back, we’ll make sure she gets some as well. She’s planted a couple of rows of vegetables and has told everyone in the building (the other three suites) that they are welcome to pick whatever comes ready for picking.

Just a few minutes ago, I went back out into the garden for a look around; John’s at work and it’s the perfect opportunity for me to poke around out there. I’d been browsing Punchfork this morning and came across a roasted carrot recipe I’d like to try tonight. You can’t have roasted carrots without the carrots, so I went out to get some. While there, I checked out the radishes (from S’s section of the garden; part of the second crop of radishes!) and decided that some new potatoes would go well with dinner, too (there’s leftover roasted chicken in the fridge… dinner planned!). Aren’t they gorgeous?

Even though we’ve had the wettest June on record and even though the weather has been unseasonably cold, it hasn’t seemed to bother the garden. Everything is lush and green and coming along beautifully.

I was amazed to see how well the Walla Walla onions are doing, too. They’re ready for picking! I did, as a matter of fact, pick that one right in the center of the picture. It’s in my sink right now, waiting to be rinsed. I may just try to work it into dinner as well. If you’re not familiar with Walla Walla onions, they’re a sweet onion. People have been known to slice them and put them in a sandwich! An onion sandwich! I wouldn’t, but the certainly are a lovely onion.

The butterfly garden is doing well, too. I won’t show pictures of it today because, at the moment, only the daisies and the bee balm are blooming. Oh, the hens and chicks are blooming too, but they’re not that spectacular.

I will, however, leave you with one last picture. This was a visitor to our yard this morning. John brought it to my attention. This is one of the reasons I love summer around here…

It’s good to be back.