Thursday 5 July 2012

The state of things...


I always pinch myself when I harvest such a lovely lot of veg as this.  Tender, lush kale and chard which sautéed up beautifully with an onion and some butter.  Into the casserole it went with freshly laid eggs to produce the tastiest frittata we've had in ages.  A very frugal and nutritious meal cooked in so little time.


A good deal of time this week was spent weeding the potato and squash bed.  With the heavy rains lately, the weeds were absolutely enormous as you can see below (laying on the grass next to the garden area).




Thanks once again to Freecycle, we have added to our stash of pavers and bricks.  These will come in very handy around our place with all the projects we want to work on (wood fired oven, retaining wall, bed edging, shed foundation, etc).  


Kelly has done a spectacular job of fixing up the dilapidated garden shed.  Trust me when I tell you that it was in rough shape - we even considered bulldozing it and starting over, but after close inspection, it was deemed repairable. Kelly levelled it up, built new doors and added some trim to make it look a little nicer (especially as we see the shed from our back deck).   My job now is to prime and paint it.  Roger that!  Hopefully, our efforts will buy us some more years of useful service out of this old shed :)


Around the left/south side of the garden shed, is my strawberry bed where big things are taking place!  We've been picking a few berries each day and the kids are learning how much more delicious and juicy homegrown strawberries are to the hollow, flavourless counterparts from the store.


After a fantastic tip from a member at the Down To Earth Forum, my blueberries are perking up rapidly!  They are much happier with the addition of some wood chips and coffee grounds (adding acid to the soil).  Disaster appears to have been averted - whew.



The first blooms on my (John Cabot) climbing rose have graced us with their presence... such a treat for us all including the hens who are rather intrigued by the shock of colour!  



The garden is growing rapidly now with that much needed LONG soaking of rain we've had.  The forecast is for scorching temps for the next week (30-32C), so we'll see plants growing practically overnight now!  Don't laugh all you readers from the south...that's REALLY hot for here!



The Norkent and September Ruby apples have formed and are plumping out beautifully... it seems that I was just taking pictures of their blooms only a few short weeks ago.




Sour cherries are coming along, although not too many of them will grace my kitchen this year...  if my eyes see correctly, we may just harvest 6 of them!


Our silly hens still enjoy hanging out in their basket on the front porch of the coop...  They've scratched all the straw out of it, but they don't seem to care.


 I've never seen so many raspberries and I'm elated to see them thriving after 3 years of getting them established.


I've been busy re-seeding my greens - you can see baby lettuce in the background and new kale seedling in between the established plants.  I'm working much harder at succession planting this year to avoid having a glut of any one thing all at once.  There's only so many things you can hide kale in in the course of a week!


Through the trees I see the butter yellow blooms of canola all around me...  soon it will fade, but for now all is cheery.



Evidence of the kids' play in the forest behind the house... building a log house and hanging out in their teepee are the current favs.  Imaginative fun (out of doors), is so good for children.



The back deck is nearing completion (railing, wind screen and planters still to be built).  After 3 VERY long years of saving, waiting and planning, it is GLORIOUS to have functional family space out back!  These doors lead to our bedroom, so we will have a lovely private spot to sit and put our feet up with a much deserved evening beer while watching the sunset.  

Good things really are worth the wait, aren't they?




9 comments:

  1. ISN'T IT THE MOST NICEST FEELING TO PULL OUT SOME NICE VEGETABLES FROM THE GARDEN..i GOT A TINY ONE ...BUT PULLED OUT THREE LARGE TURNIPS AND BUNCH OF PEAS AND MY FIRST ZUCCHINI...AND A LARGE HANDFUL OF STRAWBERRIES...i JUST LOVE IT...YOUR HENS ARE JUST LOVING THAT BASKET SO WISH i COULD HAVE ME SOME HENS...BUT i GUESS THE BIRDS AND TURTLE AND DOGGIE WILL HAVE TO DO...LOL HAVE A GREAT THURSDAY..WITH LOVE JANICE

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  2. Good things really ARE worth waiting for. The sense of achievement when you finally have or have built what was in you mind is wonderful. Living simply is the best way these days.

    I love you hens in their basket, mine love to play in their sandpit (it's full of sieved soil for them to dust bathe) and then bask in the sunshine.

    Sue xx

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  3. Enjoy it Sherri, it's so good when that harvest run starts.

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  4. hello
    your new deck is beautiful!!! your meal sounds good.love your life.......simple life is the best way in these crazy crisis.
    love your garden with all the wonderful fruits and veg...i know it is hard work but is it worth.
    wish you a wonderful weekend,
    love regina

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  5. This was a really nice post. I love the fields of flowers through the trees and the kids play area in the woods, reminds me of how we used to play as kids. I am so envious of your raspberries! I went and look at the one plant that I bought but it looks like it is going to die to me. I have got to find a better spot for my berries! Your kale looks wonderful too, I will be planting Red Russian next year again instead of this dinosaur kale.

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  6. Thank you everyone - it's lovely to hear from you all. simple pleasures really do "take the cake", don't they?

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  7. Great tip on the blueberries--I will try that this afternoon.

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  8. Everything looks GREAT. I love seeing all the promise of fresh fruits/veg to come.

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  9. Your raspberries are great. So much fruit. I love it too when children play outside.
    Thank you too for the tip on blueberries. I haven't had a lot of success in the past so I will keep that in mind.

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