The pond is finally clearing up. Ashton and Jacob helped by putting in all those bags of Gypsum and Lime in the pond while they were here last weekend.
Brown Thrasher
Southern Leopard Frog
In the veggie garden, we're still harvesting plenty. Yesterday, made some tomato sauce and put it in the freezer. It's so EASY AND DELICIOUS to make fresh tomato sauce using the high speed blender to blend the tomatoes (skins, seeds and all). Then just cook the sauce down for about an hour on low, let cool and put in the freezer. I put some aside to make this delicious Gazpacho. Fresh Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo makes a nice topper.
Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes are so plentiful and tasty! Two sprawling plants are nearly six feet tall and pumping out fruit like crazy. We can't keep up but keep finding new ways to use these yummy little nuggets. Just roasted a bunch and added to the salsa. A really good move!!
Another day in the garden --
Peppers, tomatoes and eggplants are all doing great this year. I'll be saving seeds of several varieties to grow again next year.
At the top of the list to regrow next year:
Numex Big Jim Pepper
Neapolitan Sweet Pepper is probably the most productive pepper I've grown to date.
Matt's Wild Cherry, of course.
Rozovyi Izumnyi, IND beefsteak type plant is huge and full of tasty fruit
Celebrity makes the list again. Love this one!
Ashley cucumber has been awesome too. It's still doing well, partially thanks to me since I've been doing some pollinating with my little paintbrush. LOL
Kakao is impressive with its perfectly uniform fruits and decent flavor. They're a brick red color with greenish shoulders. It was slow to start but it's turning out to be quite prolific too.
My two oldest grandsons came to visit last week. It was so wonderful to see them. Jacob was able to help me with putting my photos into folders. So that's good. But I'm still having trouble editing the photos. I didn't ask him to help me with that. Sigh!!! Hopefully, I can figure it out.
One of my favorite things is watching the hummingbirds. They are truly amazing creatures.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isaiah 14:14
Wow! We're having such wonderful weather. It was 67* this morning, which is pretty awesome for July in Texas. It was the same yesterday, beautiful weather for Independence Day. The high for the day was 88*! We had a lovely day outdoors, enjoying such a beautiful day, thankful for our freedom. We're all so blessed.
I'm figuring out my camera. A little. Still cannot find a way to put the new images into a folder. So, they're just sitting at the bottom of the photo file. Grrr!
But, I received good news from my two oldest grandsons. I'm so excited! They're planning to come for a visit next month!! I haven't seen either of them in about two years! Plus, one is majoring in computer technology so hopefully he will be able to help an ol' timer out with her camera and computer. LOL!! Either way, it's going to be great to see them. They're such good human beings, I'm really proud of both of them!!
More good news - my GSD is feeling so much better since we started feeding her homemade food instead of dogfood. Chicken in bone broth with rice and veggies and some chia. She'll be 13 in a couple of months. I hope she stays with us for awhile longer. Anna is such a good dog, probably the most protective of all of our GSD's, she stays on guard at all times. I'm still wondering if there was something in the food that either caused or aggravated her condition. Like I said, she couldn't walk at one point. Now, I sometimes see a little wobbling on her back legs and they do appear weak but it's obvious she's feeling really good and she's very alert. We're so thankful.
The garden's being generous right now. There's not much better than fresh fruits and veggies from the garden.
Homemade Pizza, Margarita Style
Besides being delicious, growing your own fruits and vegetables makes it possible for you to grab your food right from the garden and eat it without worrying about pesticides/chemicals or the need to wash off all the life giving microorganisms living on each piece of fruit.
If you want to improve your health, check out "Medical Medium" and "Elevated biotics". Actually, reading anything from Anthony William will benefit you! Reading his books has definitely changed my health and life for the better. Here's just one article about "Understanding Gut Health". https://www.medicalmedium.com/...
Stay positive! Remember, faith wins over fear.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
It rained pretty much all of May and into the first part of June. We had a few days of nice weather while family visited over Memorial Day weekend, which was nice. I sure do miss those sweet little grandchildren. They bring so much joy. Wouldn't you know it, my camera crashed while they were here! Boo! Now I'm dealing with a new camera that is even more advanced than the last one. I'm frustrated trying to figure it out. It wants to connect to my phone. NO! Oh well, maybe when some of the other grands show up, they can help me. There needs to be cameras for old people who are technically challenged!
Here's some pictures taken before the camera died.
Some May flowers ---
The moon from May26th; before the lunar eclipse of the "super flower blood moon". It started clouding up just after midnight and by the time of the eclipse, the sky was full of clouds.
The Great Egret is beautiful and stands over four feet tall.
Eggplants ---
Fairytale
Listada di Gardia
Purple fingerling
"One who understands nature walks close with the Creator", Edgar Case
Interesting blimp was flying just above the tree line on June 23rd... about 4pm
Today is May 5th and so far it's rain, rain, rain. The ground is saturated and ponding in some areas. It stormed last night. The peas growing in containers were laying on the ground this morning, and the ceramic pot was broken into pieces. Some of the tomatoes plants looks really sad from too much water. I don't think they'll recover. I'll remember not to grow tomatoes there again!
The Phoebes fledged two days ago (the 3rd) from the nest at the back porch. I suspect they might be back for round two.
Nasturtiums in bloom
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Today, May 10th, went through the garden after the rains. Everything looks happy, including me for not needing to water. Many of the tomatoes are starting to form. It's hard waiting for that first one to ripen! This one, Dwarf Awesome looks like it's in the running to be the first. (Although there's quite a few little Matt's Wild Tomatoes coming on so it may be the winner.)
Aspabroc is about ready for the first harvest.
I'm loving the Dragon's Tongue mustard greens!! They're delicious raw or cooked but I'm especially fond of the spicy bite of the raw leaves; great addition to salads. Yesterday I added chopped leaves to our beef brisket and Swiss sandwich on sourdough bread! Man was that GOOD! I cooked some and left some raw and had hubby taste test which way he wanted the sandwich prepared. We ended up with both ways on the sandwich. Delicious! lol It's starting to bolt and will need to harvest soon. I'm thinking of trying a mustard green pesto... that way we can enjoy some now and freeze the rest. I'll have to surf around for some recipe ideas.
But most of all, my heart is happy since my 12 year old GSD who was showing signs of Degenerative Myelopathy has made a wonderful recovery! She's had issues on and off in the past but the last two times have been really bad. This last time I though we were going to lose her. She could barely walk and wouldn't even eat the canned food. So I began preparing meals of rice and veggies with homemade bone broth. A couple days later, she started feeling better. Now she's totally alert and running again. I have a feeling it was something toxic in the treats I was giving the dogs. Although the other GSD's were eating them too, all the males are twice her size and weight.
Dianthus Scent First, Passion putting on a show!
Lots' of other things are growing fast, eggplants, squash, peppers, peas, beans, herbs, lettuce...
Wood ducks
Female
Male
It's spring! Everything is turning green again. I'm smiling and singing along with mother nature. And the song begins...
So let me tell ya bout the birds and the bees
and the flowers and the trees
and the moon up above
and a thing called LOVE!
LAUGH AND A SMILE. ❤️
Everything seems to be coming along. The Barn Swallows are nesting at the front porch and the Phoebes are nesting at the back porch. As usual for this time of year. LOL The Black Bellied Whistling Ducks have returned and I saw some Wood Ducks hanging around. Yesterday I saw a Great Egret fly in like an angel with its giant pure white wings and land at the edge of the pond. I didn't have my camera. The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been showing up since the end of March. Hubby built two new hummingbird feeder posts this winter. Each post has four hooks but more can be added. Four feeders are hanging so far.
It looks like the Phoebes have hatched and the parents are both feeding their babies.
Eastern Phoebe couple resting on a garden trellis. I'm sure I've said this before but I can't help but talk about how much I love having the Phoebes in the garden. They're such sweet birds and great fly catchers. The flying bugs don't stand a chance in the garden. I make a point to put up at least one trellis and some tomato cages for them to perch on. The leaves of the tomato plant get "droppings" but they rinse off. HA! And the plants probably like the extra nitrogen.
Here's the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks
Male Wood Duck. He was on the ground and then joined the female up in the tree but she flew off before I could get a picture of both of them.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
One of the two new feeding post hubby made.
We're having beautiful weather. It was supposed to get down to the low 30's last night but I don't think it got as cold as forecasted. I brought a bunch of potted plants into the garage and covered some things I thought might be vulnerable to a frost. Better safe than sorry... Other than that it's like a thick green jungle out there! And loud with all the birds and other critters singing. I love spring.
I'm just about done with my seed sowing, I think. It's never for sure because I may get the urge to grow something else or I might have forgotten something I really wanted bad enough to grow from seed. I'll have to get a list together and add it to my next blog post.
Several kinds of salvias are growing for the hummingbirds, and other things with them in mind.
Spent most of the day outdoors. Cooked on the grill. It was another beautiful day. Not spending much time in front of the TV and less time on the computer. If I watch or read too much about current events, I start to feel like I'm living in a duel reality. It makes me sad to see and hear so many people still living in fear.
On a more personal note, I'm off my BP meds. Yay! I'll tell you more about that next time.
Luke 2:52, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."
Psalms 34:4 - I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
SENDING LOVE ❤️
