A Scary Incident

 

 

 
That means it's completely acceptable to light the fall candles, shop for pumpkins, decorate early, and start watching spooky movies without a single apology.

I took that from the internet, of course, and I agree with all except the spooky movies which I don't like and which keep me from sleeping. 

It continues to be hot and dry. Wildfires have done so much damage and have made the air quality dangerous. Nevertheless we keep on with our lives. I know it's a small thing in the big picture but my  flowers look ratty and although I water some I can't water them all.

 In family news DD Sheila was attacked by an owl near her home. She was coming home from a walk in the evening when an owl that had been sitting on the power line unexpectedly flew down and dug its talons into her hair and scalp ( although it didn't break the skin).  She was terrified but thankfully it flew away.  She's always liked owls but I think she may be a little leery of them now ( as will I !!!)

looks harmless but don't be fooled

 

 Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

 

Welcome August, Tomatoes & Basil

 

 

Good Morning!!  The sun is shining through a haze of smoke and looks strangely orange.  It was only 11C when I first got up but the temperature is slowly but steadily rising. No doubt it will reach 30 again.  We did have a nice rain on Saturday, in fact DH and I got caught in it when we were walking.

Saturday was Lammas, the ancient festival that celebrates the first grain harvest and is the midpoint between summer and autumn. 

The first day of July had 16 hours of daylight. The last day was 59 minutes shorter. The days are definitely drawing in.

More tomatoes are ripening on our few plants and since I'm the only one who enjoys them I do my best to have some every day.  My third harvest of Basil is doing great on the windowsill. 

 My lunch on Saturday.  I've learned to love avocado on toast!

 

Thanks for visiting 

 

 

Friday Chit Chat

 Here we are at the end of a hot and dry month. We'll all be welcoming August and hoping for less record-setting temperatures I'm sure.  I'm not superstitious (I've heard it's unlucky to change your calendar page before time) and I changed mine to the August page which has the words Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful along with a pretty bunch of flowers.  I wonder how many still use an actual paper calendar!! I'd be lost without mine. All the birthdays and anniversaries are on it and it's in a prominent place in my kitchen. I suppose most younger folks rely on their phones but this granny is not that up-to-date.

 

When I'm done working (puttering) outside I come in and continue the slow task of cleaning each teacup and setting it back in place. I've finished another area and now I'm working on.....

...these shelves out on the porch.  It's an on-going project.

One last picture. It's my GD Kate's precious dog Maple who loves vegetables. I got her a cucumber and Kate sent me a photo of her ( Maple, not Kate) enjoying it.

 Thanks for visiting.

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

 Eldest Daughter walked around my garden taking pictures of PURPLE blooms. I hope you enjoy them.

 

 

I know she took one of my Foxgloves but now I can't find it so this one can represent mine.

 

Thanks for coming by

 

 

 

 

This and That

 

 It wouldn't be Monday around here if it wasn't also Laundry day.  The day dawned overcast and cool but it promises to be sunny and warm later. 

My Basil, which I grew on the windowsill in the sunroom, grew much too big in spite of frequent trimmings. On Saturday I cut most of the leaves and Son#2 made Pesto. Later he brought me a slice of freshly baked bread spread with that pesto and it was so good!  The old Basil plants went into the compost.  I have a third pot of Basil ready for use now just in time for the ripening tomatoes!!

 

I don't think I posted about this chest of drawers that was marked Free beside the road. It's solid and in good condition so we brought it home. I was sure someone would need it and it turned out to be Son#3.
It's a good thing it didn't stay out in the weather for long or it would have gotten wet. We had a day of showers yesterday.

The rain meant a cooler day and I took advantage of the coolness to make an Impossible  Coconut Pie.
It was a good way to use up some milk that needed using.  Do you have a go-to recipe for when you find yourself in that situation?  

 

 

That's it for today. Thanks for visiting.

 

Rattlesnake Beans & Japanese Anemones

 I thought I'd post the tale of our Rattlesnake Beans.

When M was in kindergarten some 12 years ago one of the little projects he brought home was a bean growing in a styrofoam cup. I kept it alive on the windowsill and in due time planted it outside with our regular beans but kept it marked.  From that one plant we got a number of  beans to plant the next year and after that year it became one of our favourite. Beans didn't do very well last year but there were enough to sow this Spring and hopefully this year there will be a better crop.

from the 'net....
The rattlesnake bean is an heirloom cultivar of pole bean. The pods are 6 to 8-inches long with purple markings, and the seeds are light brown with brown markings, still visible after cooking
 

 It seems I can not do a post without talking about flowers. Today it's the Japanese Anemones that have begun to bloom!!  

 

Thanks for stopping in for a visit.  I hope you have a lovely weekend.

 

Vegetable Soup and Flowers

 

I've been waiting for the beans to be ready to pick. These first ones are the Rattlesnakes.  I made a pot of Vegetable/Bean soup for supper. I was sure I didn't have any (annual) Summer Savoury come up but the perennial Winter Savoury was somewhere under the mess that was overgrown Thyme. I never did find it so I used Thyme instead. The soup didn't taste the way it should have but it was okay.

After supper I went out to see how my flowers had fared in the heat of our day (37C).
I checked the little purple Pansy growing in a pot by my garden shed and I stopped to take a proper look. In with the Pansy  a fine Summer Savoury is growing!!  I'll be sure to let it form seeds eventually and I'll sprinkle those around in the herb bed. Before I do that I will have to remove quite a bit of Thyme though.

 A lovely bouquet of flowers.... definitely not ones from my garden.

In this picture you can see the little orange flowers on the right.  The app on son's  phone identifies them as safflower. I have never seen those before.
 

From the internet:    Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), also false saffron, is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae.  The seeds are used to make safflower oil.

Thanks for coming by