summer in the garden

I debated whether to walk into town today.  It is substantially cooler here, away from the asphalt parking lots and stretch of plazas. And while the morning was pleasant, I guessed the afternoon walk back wouldn't be.  So I opted for a trip around the garden.

First stop, the basil, slowly growing from seed, in a pot

 on the old chair I found almost 3 years ago on the side of the road

Then I visited the onions and arugula which have gone to flower.

an Onion Flower about to bloom

Then, off to the branch of the cherry tree that hangs from our neighbour's tree onto our side

 that I harvested yesterday evening of its ripest cherries, leaving some for later

pretty cherries waiting to ripen

On the way to the other gardens I passed by our Harelson apple tree

The Harelson Twins

Here is our Rhubarb all gone to seed as we are both off sugar.

The entrance to the field blockaded with a palette

 to hopefully keep the deer from marauding our garden.

The composter garden looking happy

the Speedwell almost in full bloom

the Echinacea trying to catch up

an Echinacea flower just beginning to unfurl

and below it, some elegant new pinks are blooming

On the other side of the composter, we are still awaiting the arrival of our hollyhocks

whose little packages seem to be popping 

The Clematis that grow behind them have gone to seed

but these later blooming clematis are blooming profusely

They are a smaller bloom

The Clematis Stamen cluster so tightly

Behind me, these yellow lilies are blooming in happy abundance

as are these merry Coral Bells that rise up from their silvery leaves

This newest visitor, a dazzling exotic daffodil, rather late for a "normal" daffodil, I'd say,

but she's got that kind of charisma that allows her to arrive late to any party and be the star.

Then there are the hard-bloomed flowers I've been keeping you posted on, the ones that started off a purpley pale grey and are still alive, showing no sign of leaving;

 the hardiest bulb flowers I ever did see.

Behind me again, in the lily garden, the pink mallows herald the arrival of these stars of the garden.

These dark, berry looking things grow from the stalks of the lilies, 

Have I forgotten that these are the flower buds?

This year we have white mallow in the lily bed as well

So very beautiful

How the stamen cluster around the pistil. Maybe they're trying to cover it up!

heart of a mallow

From the front gardens I pass by the hydrangea to the back

This is the first full bloom

To my left, Wally has staked the grapevines to trellis

Beyond the grapevines, hidden in the shelter of the lilacs are some deleriously scented wild roses

I walk past Forget-Me-Not Cabin to find a few stray namesakes.

Out back, where I've done a little clearing behind the cabin,

I can hear a tractor starting up.

At my feet, lupin pods among the grasses and purple vetch

To the side of me, more lupin pods with a chorus of tall grasses

A mass of wild roses bloom behind the back of the garden hedge

Now, if you can believe it, I have more pictures, as the tractor, indeed started mowing the field, 

but I have used a ridiculous amount of time preparing these shots, so I'll do another post later.

It is very exciting, somehow, when it's hay day.

Thank you to those of you who are patiently waiting for me to pick up my drawing and painting again. I am glad to say the heart is willing. I have been away from it now since February. I hope to have something to share with you soon.

a sweet day to you

a quiet summer weekend

A quintessential summer afternoon here as I write, a sky so hazy that it is almost white. We had a pleasant weekend here, uneventful, except for the new kitchen electric outlet that Wally put lower on the wall so that our cords weren't showing mid-wall.

I almost caught the cats sleeping, but they woke as I composed my shot.

Muji sits up with the vintage curtains as a backdrop.

I made a quinoa tabbouleh that I served with avocado,  It has become a summer staple .

I don't use traditional measurements, but if you want to give it a try: 

• Toast the quinoa til somewhat golden in a pan on top of the stove.
• Add leftover vegetable water slowly as it wants to boil immediately because the pan is so hot.
• Turn off the heat just before the quinoa has absorbed all the water, cover with a lid and let itself steam and naturally plump up. 
• When done, remove the quinoa to a lasagna dish and allow to cool, folding over at intervals to speed the cooling up,
• Skim mint leaves off the stem but running fingers down the stem, they will make about a big handful and chop up into a large bowl.
• Cut away coarse stems and chop the tender stems and leaves of a big handful of parsley. Add to the bowl.
• Add the cooled, cooked quinoa
• Press garlic, about 3 or 4 cloves onto the quinoa.
• Dice small cucumber and a large tomato and add
• Sieve the juice of one lemon and add
• Add a whack of flax seed oil, maybe 3/4 cup
• Fold all ingredients gently until thoroughly mixed

enjoy

Here's how I found Muji on Sunday morning,

I'd washed my flip-flops after working in the garden the night before and set them here to dry.

An irridescent black/blue bug- a hornet? about an inch long.

 It seemed benign until I saw these mandibles magnified.

but it only rested and flew off

hoping all our cares are so light

first days of july

Three days into July and life carries on in the garden. I've had enough distractions to keep me from the studio. I am missing it, but happy to take care of the details of life that enrich it.

Late yesterday afternoon, in the shade of the back deck, I took a break to read my library book, an amazing history of Vincent Van Gogh . If you should be so inclined, the book is written by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith and simply called Van Gogh. It is an intensive history that explains a lot about this tortured, ecstatic soul.

y

When Wally came home he joined me on the deck and almost fell asleep in the silky evening breeze.

Eventually he roused himself and went to check the gardens, weeding as he went. Then he found a surprise in the composter garden where we are waiting for the echinacea and the speedwell to bloom.

a sprouted walnut!

When we first came here, our real estate agent suggested from the leaf he found around our two ash trees that flank the driveway, that they were maples. When we moved here, we soon learned that the maple leaves were from the hedges, oddly enough. We began to wonder if the trees were walnuts,judging by the shells (that we still continue to find on our driveway) but, as you know we eventually learned that they were ash trees, a very hard wood and last tree to get its leaves in the spring.

So we still don't know who has the walnut tree, and indeed, who is dropping the shells on our driveway. Considering that Wally put the composter garden in a few years ago, this is a somewhat recent burial. Wally decided to pot it until we figure out where it ought to go.

Two stems are growing out of it.

someof the leaves are growing in multiples, but most are single

a genuine walnut leaf; I'd never have known.

In the yard, just beyond, a lone buttercup

Up close

A pcture I forgot to show you last week shows a beautiful fungus 

on the old ash stump with some forget-me-nots

Today, some mushrooms and fungi that feed off the old ash stump

the mushrooms up close

The carnation pinks, such hardy little flowers

Whoops! a shocker about how badly the chimney on Forget-Me-Not Cabin has degraded towards the south and southeast sides that get the brunt of the sun and wind.

Last night, Wally knocked down a wasp nest that was too close to our front entrance.

This morning I saw a starling picking away at it, most of its cone shape missing. 

Was it eating the paper?

I gingerly turned it over, not knowing what I'd find.

Upon closer inspection, I see an ant lifting out a wasp larva,

Well, that's all a bit too real for me, the whole life and death thing, so I head out back to inspect the honeysuckle.  Can you believe this complicated mess of petals is just one bloom. The scent, well, you cannot imagine how sweet it all smells around here.

Walking back to the back entrance I spy a green fly on a hydrangea leaf.

Beside him a bumblebee is working on a stray lupin that is growing up through the hydrangea

a busy gentle worker

a fuzzy bee in lupin heaven

I couldn't get through the back door, still locked, and found a wasp exploring the front door.

I waited for him to go, and then I realized the wasps were trying to rebuild on the remains of their nest. Oh my.

I got myself back into the kitchen where I fed the cats and sat myself down to look at these photos.

Babu was very curious about the box of apple seconds that we brought home last night.

He wants to get inside at something

But I make a noise to distract him

And now you see I have something else to distract me from the studio with all these apples to process.  I will try a mechanical apple peeler today that I have never used and hope that speeds things up.  

Taking pleasure in the small things that enrich our lives.