Fast and Furious

Things in the garden are going fast and furious. It feels like there is barely time to keep up. We finally are having some of the heat that the garden craves and it has made all the difference. The peas are noticeable taller every time I go out there. We have harvested almost all of our soft neck garlic and are in the process of braiding them for storage. I have harvested 3 heads of cauliflower, beautiful kale leaves, scapes, lettuce, peas, radish and lots of berries.

I'm always a bit surprised by how many raspberries we manage to get from our small berry corner. I've already picked 2 pints off and that doesn't include the handfuls April east straight from the vine. I think I will need to do some planning for next year however. They are getting rather dense so it's hard to pick the berries at the back and they are toppling over. I might try to move a few canes and add some lattice. Luckily I have some time to give it a lot of thought.

My cucumber is not doing well. It is small with no flowers and some have even turned white. I might just need to give up on cucumbers this year. I hope I can buy some bags of pickling cucumbers at the market. In contrast, the squash seems to be thriving in this heat. They had a slow start but they are well on their way to being heathly, bushy plants.

My herbs are also doing well however I need to be more mindful of keeping them well watered in this hot weather. I am looking forward to my second crop of chamomile, fresh flowers make the sweetest tea. I'm also planning on harvesting some calendula for soap making. It's about time I made some soap with herbs from my garden.

Many more harvests are on the horizon and I am looking forward to trying new recipes and simply eat food that was picked only seconds ago. This is my favorite part of summer.

Canada Day

Yesterday we took a break from the daily grind and celebrated Canada Day. We played in the sun, cooked a meal to share with friends with goodies from our garden, donned patriotic tattoos and just had a simple, lovely day. I hope all my Canadian friends had a lovely day too.

To Market

Yesterday was a beautiful day for visiting the market. This is one of my favorite markets, in fact I used to work at this market before I was a mother. We scored some amazing fresh, local yogurt, sea salt from our own shores, fresh fruit freezes and some local sausage. April adored the O'Brien Family Band that was performing. She was dancing away and I must admit I really enjoyed them as well. They are definitely a band I want to hear more from. Hope you enjoyed your Saturday as much as we did.

This Moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

Today

We needed to get out of the rain, it was such a grey wet day. Not at all summer weather. So we headed to butterfly gardens and had a mini-getaway. It was warm and beautiful (albeit crowded) in there. Our favorite activity is playing butterfly i-spy. April is wonderful at noticing those butterflies that I might have missed completely. I don't blame them really. With all the cameras, people and loud children I would want to hide away on a sheltered flower too.

The hibiscuses are in bloom. Sometimes I just can not believe how bright and rich the colors in nature can be. The reds and yellows were amazing. There were orchids and ginger, pitcher plants and vanilla beans. I enjoy the horticulture in there almost as much as the creatures.

April loves the tortoises and honestly, I do too. They are such wise looking creatures. Never in a rush, taking it all in and so aware. She is also a big fan of the flamingos. She could have stood there all day watching them eat their lunch. The koi are always in a frenzy when the flamingos are eating. Fighting over any dropped crumb, they certainly get your attention with all the splashing they do.

We used the microscopes there to examine butterfly wings, bird feathers and gecko skins up close. So interesting but unfortunately that activity quickly devolved into a simple game of twisting all the dials. Then the crowds and loud parrots started to get to us so we departed for our rainy reality. A beautiful break on this rainy day.

Her Mermouse

By far one of the most popular books in our house is Phoebe's Birthday. Beautifully illustrated it is a very sweet and simple story of a little mouse overcoming her fear of swimming just in time for her birthday. We are fans of the Phoebe books and this one is just the latest addition. I have yet to beginning any of the knitting patterns in the books as I just don't have the yarn required but the birthday dress in this book is amazing. It might be a next summer item though.

It was a no-brainer when it came to making April's next toy. I found the kits on Etsy which made this project a breeze. It was so fun making something I knew she would love so much and honestly that I love too. After seeing how popular the little mermouse is, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to make the spool of thread quilt from the book as well. That logic makes sense right?

Still Growing

The garden is still happily growing, getting bigger and producing more everyday. While we still have our losses, most of the garden seems to be doing well. We had to replace our cucumber seedlings. I'm still baffled by what caused their demise but the new seedling appear as though they will not suffer the same fate. My beets continue to be the victims of birds and bugs. So difficult being an organic gardener when you lose so much to "pests". Perhaps my beets will do better in the fall.

We have been harvesting berries (both strawberries and raspberries) which I am certain thrills April. She can not wait to pick the ripe red berries from the vine. I don't blame her one bit, they are so sweet and juicy it's nearly impossible to resist. We harvested 32 bulbs of soft neck garlic which are now drying in preparation for braiding. Our hard neck garlic is still in the ground but producing many scapes. I almost enjoy having a bumper crop of a particular vegetable. It forces me to be creative and try new recipes that I might not have tried if I weren't swimming in produce.

We are looking forward to peas and carrots from the garden, I'm sure they will do well. I'm nervous for my squash, zucchini, cucumber, bean and cabbage crops this year but as always only time will tell if my efforts to nourish them are successful. I think we will need a few more hot and sunny days to get those slow plantings to really grow. July is almost here so lets all hope for perfect summer days.