Hello, friends. One of the pleasant highlights of this summer was visiting my niece in Asheville, with my sister. We hiked, thrifted, and ate well. I saw that a local singer-songwriter was playing at a winery, which would be nearby on the way home. Stopping for a glass of wine on a summer afternoon, listening to music in a gorgeous spot in the Uwharrie hills, was the perfect ending to our trip. Meanwhile, the garden takes up much of my days. Tomatoes were canned, little amounts each time. I dehydrated figs, tomato skins for powder, chanterelles, and elderberries. Trying to keep up with the squash, I made zucchini lemon poppy seed muffins and my Mom's zucchini soup. I've been harvesting tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, summer squash and broccoli, and also gathering marigold flowers, borage flowers, sweet potato leaves, dandelion leaves, lambs quarter, garlic chives and arugula for my morning eggs. I mix it up, from day to day, as to what I put in the eggs, but work towards eating the rainbow, diversity, and wild foods. Chanterelles have also made it into the eggs some days. When I ran out of ideas for eggplant dishes, I canned up a bit. We've harvested a few melons.
I harvested our lone plum. We started with three plums, and ended up with one, which is exactly what happened to the apples on one tree... started with three, ended up with one. Ah well, maybe next year. From various accounts I follow, I know we're not alone in having a less than stellar garden year. The Amish potatoes were a bust, due to something eating them, likely ants. So, starting with at least 12 plants, we harvested two small (think golf balls) and three tiny potatoes. J swears this is our last try, and I can't say I blame him. Pawpaws have started ripening. Some were shared with my sister, some with a neighbor, and others were prepped and frozen. The young hens started laying a few weeks ago. It started slow, but we've gotten as many as 11 in a day. The eggs are for the most part pretty tiny so far, though I've gotten several that had double yolks, which seems to be more common in young and old chickens.
I finished deep cleaning the pantry, which included scrubbing the dishwasher that lives there. I asked J to check out why it had standing water, and it seems better now. For the most part, I hand wash, and he uses the dishwasher. It works for us. One day recently, J woke up and decided to tackle a job that had been on his mind for a while, which was putting pavers beneath the table and chairs where we pond-sit. He added a solar lantern and twinkly lights. It turned out beautifully, and I'll try to take a pic soon. The weather has cooled some, so we were able to enjoy our first pond-sit in some time. The skoolie has gone through some major repairs, having to do with the engine. It included having an independent shop, who specializes in CAT equipment, work on the engine head. J began putting it all back together yesterday, so we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're hoping for a September trip. Stay well, friends. Enjoy these precious days.
