July

Summer is definitely at it's peak here in my neck of the woods. It's hot and dry this year, with only about an inch of rain in the past 2 months. Watering my little garden is a daily task right now. We don't water grass--not because our community has water restictions (yet)--but because it seems so wasteful. Most of our neighbors are keeping sprinklers going night and day, and they just have little boring patches of grass! Only herbs, vegetables, and favorite perennials get water at our house when it's dry. I wish it would rain. We need it so badly this year.




Marigolds like the hot sunny days.



I have been harvesting a few things, mostly herbs and a handful of Roma tomatoes. The Brandywines and Cherokee Purples are not setting fruit in this heat-the poor flowers are dropping right off. And blueberries, of course! Mostly I've been buying fresh produce from the farmer's market. It's a real luxury to cook with fresh foods. We have had corn, cucumbers, peas, tomatoes, scallions, crookneck squash, peppers, fresh boiled peanuts (a summertime treat down south!), peaches, and watermelon. I've also bought wonderful eggs and milk lately from local farmers.




Roma tomatoes, rosemary, basil, and spearmint from my garden.



I've started making herb and pepper vinegars for the winter, and jars of pickled jalapenos. I also plan to make blueberry preserves, since we have so many blueberries. Our backyard bushes are full. There are plenty of berries for us and the birds and squirrels too. This makes me happy, because we can sit outside and watch all the feathered and furred visitors without feeling cheated of fruit! It's nice to have enough and to spare.

Blue abundance