Sweet 100s

This is today's harvest of cherry tomatoes. I will cook them Ina Garten style in olive oil with fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Less is more.

Flowers in the garden...

Flowers in the garden bring bees and butterflies. This morning there were swarms of butterflies and bees busy working the flowers. They work the vegetables as they are working the flowers which are planted all around. The outcome is lucious squashes and juicy tomotoes.

Kids and Kittens

Patricia loves kittens. Here she is with a new litter. She is holding Milky Way and Truffle-going with the candy theme works for her. It was great fun listening to her name and re-name kittens. Snickers, Zero, Oreo, Chips; her list went on and on. You should hear her sweet, delighted laughter when she is playing with them. OMG it was so much fun to be with a happy 4th grader! She played with them until the fireflies came out and mosquitoes chased us indoors.

Homemade Yogurt

Pictured below is my homemade yogurt with a drizzle of honey. The recipe is too simple: Heat 2 cups milk, any kind, in a pot to 180-190 degrees (it will have small bubbles and be steamy). Let cool until warm to very warm and pour into a warm jar. Stir in 1 Tablespoon yogurt with active culture (any kind you like). Put the lid on, wrap in a towel to retain heat and put in a warm place for 4 hours. DO NOT MOVE FOR 4HOURS! The recipe can be doubled/tripled/quadrupled...just be sure that the ratio of milk to yogurt is the same. Many thanks to Jonathan and the New York Times for this cool summer delight. With fresh summer fruit it is gourmet.

Outdoor Rooms

Our neighbor's daughter started the "porch party" years ago. They are great fun. Neighbors and friends gather to eat, drink and chill enjoying each other while avoiding the chore of cleaning the whole house. Summer would be unbearable without porches and shade trees. Here's a sample of porches in our neighborhood. They've announced births, engagements, hosted weddings, graduations, retirments, family reunions, a multitude of Halloween celebrations, hurricane parties and recoveries. If you have an unloved porch, doll that bad girl up and parteeeee!

Beans

This handful of beans will be enough to accompany a supper of zucchini pie. Oh, what a beautiful morning. The air is clear and clean from last night's rain, bread is baking in the oven, laundry is done, and I have nothing to do but read a book. So glad school is out and I get to live by my own rules. Woo, hoo!

suzuki gardening

Successful gardening requires daily investment paired with loving patience.It is now time for squash. Any takers? Bright and early this morning,I heard my backdoor neighbor yelling at her husband about squash. He refuses to wear his hearing aids so she has to yell. "There's too much squash already, Merle!" Minutes later there was a bag on my next door neighbors porch. My donor recipient usurped.