Out in the garden

 There is something so satisfying about having a garden. Hard work is involved; hoeing, tilling, weeding, digging, planing, mulching, watering. Repeat. But the results are bountiful. The obvious vegetables and flowers, yes. But something so much more rewarding when a day's work is done, to sit back with ice water and admire your work. To be outside and feel the sun on your skin, the dirt in your nails, the sweat even! I sleep so much sounder after the days in the garden.

I love the fresh air, being outside and doing something. I feel like it's my form of meditation. My moment to feel and observe. I find myself lost in watching birds play in the water, squirrels chase each other, and hearing the children play outside at the daycare near by. I could spend all day outside.

 Small, but wonderful

Just a Quick Pickle

Tended to the garden today, and although we have a lot of things almost ready to ripen, there is very little that we can pick right now. One of the things that happens to be thriving is the jalapenos. I didn't want what I picked to go to waste, so I decided to do a small batch of pickling.

 I threw in some oregano from the garden (which also seems to be doing quite well) and a green tomato that prematurely fell to it's death. I felt I should honor his short life by pickling him into eternity.

I sliced everything up and threw it into 2 small canning jars. They now decorate the inside of my fridge, too pretty to be opened.

While I was out in the garden, I turned on the sprinkler. To my amusement, several young robins flew in for a shower. They must have been in the 'teenage' stage of robin life because they weren't flighty around me and in fact seemed to have unjustified invincibility. They took turns flying into the water stream, and would puff up their feathers and hop around on the ground following the sprinkler.

I found it hilarious. It doesn't take much...

In the Garden

I'm getting so excited for our garden! In this aspect, time cannot go fast enough. We planted our garden a little late in the season, I believe it was after Memorial Day. Initially, I was a bit worried but because of our procrastination, we missed a late frost! Our garden was saved and after planting it has been a waiting game.....

....I'm not good with waiting games.

We knew we wanted tomatoes and bell peppers because we eat them all the time. I also wanted plants that I could preserve for enjoyment later in the year. The watermelon was the Man's idea, a "why not" purchase. The onions were an after thought, they looked dried up and dead and I had no idea what they required. I must be doing something right, they seem to be thriving.

Ripen already!

There are 4 variety of tomatoes: Celebrity, Heinz Heirloom, Black....um....something-or-other, and one other kind (I'm embarrassed I can't remember at the moment....). I have many plans for *hopefully* the bounty. Salsa, marinara, ketchup, fried green tomatoes at the end of the season.

The Bell Peppers are slow to get going, and I'm hesitant about what we are going to yield. There are 3 types: Early, Yellow and Red.

And then of course, the herbs! From my experience, Basil and Oregano are the easiest to grow. They are prolific and very little tending. I just keep pinching the tops off and they keep spreading!

My little garden helper :)