Firefly / Long Days' Time 2025

Nasturtiums

And just like that, Firefly/Long Days' Time is done. 

Summer has finally found us here with hot, humid weather and several sunny or partly sunny days.

The garden plants are picking up the pace.

Overall shot of the garden on 7/10

Potato plants are very happy.

Potato bed starting to bloom

So are the nasturtiums, which are used for pest control and pollinator attraction.

A bank of nasturtiums

As the season progresses, these flowers are enveloped with a constant buzzing from all of the pollinators at work.

Beans climbing their trellises

The pole beans are all climbing their supports and should start blossoming soon.

The kitchen has been busy. I've been freezing parsley and celery leaves.

Garlic scapes

 

Garlic scapes have been converted into pesto and that's been frozen.

First peas

The peas have come in and are just about finished. (Like me, they don't do well in the heat.) I froze a couple of quarts. That's enough for winter curries and stews.

Freezing Kale

I've begun freezing kale and chard.

Chopping chard to freeze

I'll continue freezing these greens into the autumn.

Dishpan full of calendula

I've picked two large dishpans full of calendula flowers and laid them out in the attic to dry.

Drying on screens

This is a major ingredient in our autumn and winter tea blend. I still need to dry a couple more pans full to have and adequate supply on hand.

Black raspberries and blueberries are coming on now. We really bulk up on our anthocyanins at this time of year.

The lettuce and spinach are done for now. The strawberries are finished. We gave several boxes away.

Garlic and shallots will be pulled soon and laid out to dry for winter use.

Apricot down

 

We lost nearly half of one of our apricot trees this month. It wasn't from a storm. Upon examination, we found a large area of decay in the juncture between trunks. These trees are short lived, so it was not a huge surprise. Now it's firewood.

"No Kings" rally in Ithaca

We've attended a couple of rallies and "honk and wave" events: two on "No Kings" Day and two on Independence Day.

Independence Day

We will continue to speak for Democracy and justice for as long as we can.

On the solstice, we walked at Watkins Glen State Park.

Solstice at Watkins Glen

It was a bit hot, even in the gorge, and very crowded.

The heat has prevented us from more outings. I'm photosensitive and get sick in the heat. We will have to get out more once cooler autumn weather arrives.

We finally sold our gas-powered car and the utility trailer we used with it. After Bob retired the second car has gotten little use. Now we'll save some money on insurance, maintenance and what not. If we find we need a truck, we'll rent one for a couple of hours.

That's about all that's keeping us busy and off of the streets. We hope you're all well and enjoying the summer.

Be safe, be strong, be courageous.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Spleenwort in Watkins gorge