We have four pear trees, and this is what's left of the pears:  two!!!

 

They have never really produced many pears, but this year we had five.  Three were so low that the deer knocked them off.  But these two are up high enough that they couldn't bump them.  

 

So, I guess I'm going to get two pears this year.  :)

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I just realized that my chanterelle picture didn't post yesterday.  Here is what should have gone with the post.

 

I added a new one too, so you can see how pretty they really are.

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

Wow!!!  Look at that!!!  What a beauty.  I am just bragging that this tomato grew in our garden.

 

I saved seeds from an heirloom pineapple tomato last summer, and planted some of the seeds in March.  They have been in the garden since May, and are really producing a bunch of tomatoes.  They aren't all this big, but there have been a few giants like this.  

 

Isn't it gorgeous?  We sliced it and put it on our eggplant pizza.  YUMMEE!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

See the difference?  These mushrooms look friendly.  That's because I know that they are.  

 

These are chanterelles growing near our apple trees.  When we have a week or so of wet weather in summer, the yard sprouts chanterelles.  They come up all over, probably where trees are decomposing under the ground.  I love it when they appear.   

 

They are a little work to clean, but sometimes they come up in the grass and are already clean.  I don't mind cleaning them, though, because they are so good cooked with our green beans from the garden.  They have to be cooked, not eaten raw, but that is true with most mushrooms.

 

But, don't take my word for mushroom identification.  If you are interested in learning about mushrooms, buy a good field guide, and find somebody who knows mushrooms.  It is great to learn from an expert, which I am not.  I have a Naturalist friend who knows mushrooms, and we have spent lots of time together in the woods.  Best to learn first hand, then use the field guides and internet for backup.  

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

The very same day that we saw the Carolina lily, we saw this thing growing right in the center of the hiking trail.  

 

We knew what this was.  We've seen it before in our neighborhood.  It is Jack-o-lantern mushroom.  POISONOUS!!!

 

The mushroom field guide says it is a look-alike for Chanterelles.  Not even!!  Except they are both some shade of orange.  Chanterelles look gentle and sweet, and this thing just looks nasty.  To me, it even screams "DON'T EAT ME!!!"  And what nerve:  growing in the middle of the path.

 

We saw lots of mushrooms that day, none of which we brought home for supper.  We are very selective when it comes to mushrooms.  I don't even trust Seek completely when it comes to mushrooms.  I look them up in the field guides, then look on the internet for back up information.  

 

Can't be too careful.  

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

We were walking in the park last week, and happened to notice this lovely thing.  It was just a little off the path,  standing about 2 feet tall.  It took my breath away!!!  I knew it was a lily, but my guess was Turk's cap.  Nope.

 

I looked it up in my Wildflowers in Color book when we got home.  It said:  Although this lily resembles the Turk's-cap, it is much shorter (1-3 ft.) and usually grows in drier places.  Carolina lily is often 1-flowered or 1-3 flowered in contrast to the many-flowered Turk's-cap.  That settled the mystery for me.  

 

Truth be told:  my photo is even better than the one in the book.  

 

HAPPY HIKING!!!

 

 

 

Don't you just love summer?  Tomatoes from the garden!!!!!  Time to blanch and can them.  

 

This many tomatoes will fill about 6 or 7 pint jars.  But the pressure canner only holds 9 pints, so we gauge our canning sessions accordingly.  One canning session a day is plenty of work.  6 or 7 pints of tomatoes is a good day's work, IMO, (in my opinion.)

 

In the winter, we love to make soup, and nearly all our recipes use tomatoes.  We'll be ready this winter.  We eat local, because we can.  ;)

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

 

Look how beautiful our world is, even after the storms.  We've had thunderstorms nearly every day this last week, and this is what we get when it's over.

 

We just sit out on the porch and enjoy the rain, then the aftermath.

 

Just thought you'd like to see our little piece of heaven.

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

We blanched and canned tomatoes the other day, and when we were done there was still a bunch of liquid in the pot.

 

So...you know how to make stock using chicken bones and vegetable scraps?  Well, I applied that technique to making tomato juice.  I added peeled cucumbers, onion, pepper,  a little red cabbage, celery, lovage, and a little garlic to the tomato liquid.  We let it steep for an hour, strained it, put it into the prepared jars, and ended up with 6 pints of seasoned tomato juice.  

 

Perfect for Sunday morning Bloody Marys.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The Sumac trees are blooming all over.  As you approach the trees, you can HEAR the bees.  It sounds like the trees are humming.

 

There are thousands of bees in our trees;  you can even see the pollen they have collected on their hind legs.  

 

This tree is very near the garden, which makes me happy.  Thousands of pollinators are ready to work their magic in our garden.  Without the bees, we'd have no fruit:  that means no cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, tomatillos, peppers, apples, peaches.  We are so fortunate to have all these pollinators in our neighborhood.

 

I love the Sumac trees for bringing the bees close to the garden.  More garden friends.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!