Stand by Me

With bravado, the Tiger lilies are holding the cheer.  Peonies have long departed, the hollyhocks are winking out and the poppies are now dream capsules. Summer is a going.

The beauty of the blackberry and that..

Prime August activities include picking some blackberries. Here is a photo of the prickly bramble with that black sheen on the fragile  composite berry heads.                                                                                                    

A marvel for still life artists. My mother in law had a mug that was hand painted with a sprig of the unripened red and the ripened black fruits. The other beauty is Jason and his job as shown here.                                                                        

Vegetation can get out of hand and a little trim in August helps.

Between Two Moons; Aug2 and Aug31

I am using the days between the first and second moon to rein in a runaway garden. Scale back the kale, distribute the zucchini and decapitate the broccoli.  Meanwhile we are enjoying some summer fun at Jimtown. It has been sometime since I saw a full moon on the ocean and this one was big and red. Orin was quite taken with it. Since I have been away, and without my own phone, I had not call my mother but got it done on August 3. And for supper we had delicious hamburgers and potato salad prepared by Richard and Bernie. Another look at the moon by Orin and I. We are easily moonstruck. Jane and Moe gave Tiresa and David a celebratory supper on August 4. We got fed too with trifle for dessert. Today we had a quick get together and an early night for all at various abodes. Out there the rover, Curiosity, landed on Mars on August 5. Earthbound me is still dealing with edible vegetation and now the blueberries introduce a new complication by ripening a week earlier.

August 1, banking it

I have put into the freezer 2 bags of Russian kale and will likely get round to blanching the broccoli florets for freezing. I have seen the cabbage butterflies a fluttering in among the vegetables and their nibbles don't amount to much but it is troublesome when they start to lay eggs on Cruciferous members; kale, broccoli, cauliflower resulting in so much careful watching.And when the eggs hatch into little green caterpillars nestling in the buds of the broccoli florets they are not welcome protein. So it is best to get to get as much done ASAP.