Summer Assorteds

We enjoyed our first summer garden veggie dinner Sunday night and cleaned up most of the leftovers last night.  

These dinners are often tastier the second time around, especially with sliced up Wood's German sausages added to the mix of potatoes, carrots, cheese, melted margarine and seasonings.  Sometimes, for extra calories, I add sour cream and to make up for those calories in healthy eating, I'll add garden green beans and onions. 

Besides the veggies coming on strong and ready to eat, the daily blueberry picking here at the Lovestead has been time consuming, thanks to SO many berries.  I have about seven or eight bushes and have been picking well over a quart each day.  Lots more to come. 

Twas a great evening for being outside last night.  The elk over on Hickey Road thought so too.  I don't know if the owner of the field would be too excited about the grazing program going on, but I thought it was nice to see them, nibbling on graze, showing motherly love and even frolicking in the field.  

They didn't seem to mind the stops I made to get out and take some shots.  Basically, they went on about their business. 

Another pleasant aspect of yesterday's comfortably mild evening hours came with the a host of "threatening" clouds which must have saved their work for someplace east of us.  

Instead of a rain dump, we enjoyed a range of artistic sky images and lighting as the cloud mass floated through the area. 

Tom Sherry keeps apologizing for July temperatures falling short of the average and seeming more like June. 

No need to apologize, Tom.  I have a feeling that most people, like me, are not complaining a bit.  It's nice to enjoy being outside and to feel like staying active rather than escaping into air conditioning to beat the heat. 

We've been pretty lucky in the "beating the heat" department this year. 

It's looking like I can join the zucchini joke crowd pretty soon as two little beauties are beginning their growth spurt out in the "fenced in" garden.

So far, this year I've lost a few tops off from flowers and weekly barbering of my pea crop. That garden netting works wonders in keeping the nocturnal veggie and flower thievery to a minimum.  Maybe this year we'll get to enjoy "most" of the garden. 

This pink beauty given to me for Mother's Day by Willie and Debbie is starting its second round of brilliant blooms.  It's been a wonderful year for roses. 

And, it's looking like a lovely, comfortably cool day ahead. 

Happy Tuesday.