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| After a recent storm |
The full moon has come and gone, and so our month of Firefly/Long Days Time has slipped away, too.
It's been smokey and rainy much of this past month. Now the heat has begun. July is typically our hottest month of the year.
The garden is progressing, and I've been processing herbs for winter's use.
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| Lemon balm drying for tea |
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| Dried dill |
I've begun to put parsley and celery leaves into the freezer, and have dried dill and lemon balm.
We've been eating a lot of lettuce! One very large salad daily for lunch, and usually a sandwich for supper.
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| Dill, mustard greens and parsley |
We use a variety of herbs to jazz up our salads.
Our strawberries did fairly well this year. We had a freeze (not a frost) in late May which damaged some of the blossoms. Local vineyards and orchards are talking about significant losses from this. It looks like our apples fared well enough, thanks to the microclimate that they enjoy.
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| Tasty berries |
We didn't freeze any strawberries this year-simply enjoyed them as they came.
Our raspberries are now beginning to ripen.
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| First raspberries (pardon the dirty hand) |
Red and black currants have now been picked and are in the freezer.
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| Black currants ripening |
The blueberry plants are just loaded with fruit which should be ripening soon. I anticipate putting a nice amount away in the freezer.
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| Just one of six blueberry bushes |
The cranberries are blooming now. These are dry land cranberries that share the blueberry bed, since they like similar conditions. I thought you might be interested in seeing what a cranberry blossom looks like.
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| Cranberry blossom and tiny berries |
Out in the vegetable garden things are coming along. We've eaten spinach, lettuce, kale and chard. I've just begun to start putting up peas.
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| First batch for the freezer |
Soon cabbages will begin to go in, as well. I pulled the shallots yesterday and laid them out in the attic to cure.
Here's a little look around at some of our other plants:
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| Potatoes looking very lush |
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| Cabbages looking fine |
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| All of our beans have a ways to go |
Bob's been working on the porch, which is nearly done.
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| New porch now in use |
This will easily be my favorite porch! It's a nice size, shaded most of the day and very private. We've already had a few meals out there and watched some nice rainstorms there, too.
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| Preparing for the steps |
He's now building the step and handrails. When the skirting is added, the project will be done. I'll show more pictures next time.
We've had a rash of unexpected breakdowns and associated expenses lately. (Ever notice how these things seem to follow one after another in a streak? Four for us.)
One was Bob's lawn tractor. The transmission seemed to have some sort of mechanical nervous breakdown. We finally got it back from the shop after a month. A month in the late spring here is a long time to let the grass grow.
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| Nice backyard, eh? |
It was nearly up to my hips by then. It took Bob a while to get it back to the usual three inches.
Another breakdown was our well pump. It quit on a Saturday afternoon (of course!). The pump and pressure tank were the only two mechanicals on the house that we had not replaced. Well, now we're down to only one! The plumber came out on Sunday morning, and just about noon we had water again. Now we keep a large container of bottled water in the pantry for emergencies.
In an effort to keep a balance between chores and rest, we have gone on three outings this month.
First we walked at Buttermilk Falls State Park in Ithaca.
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| Buttermilk Falls State Park |
Unfortunately, it was one of the smokey days and we really noticed it climbing the gorge. After that we decided to heed the warnings and not do anything strenuous on the days we had Air Quality Alerts.
Another outing was at Labrador Hollow Unique Area. It was a nice cool walk in the woods on a rather toasty day.
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| Labrador Hollow Unique Area |
Our third outing was on the Solstice. We went to the Cornell Botanic Garden and Mundy Wildflower Garden. This was another enjoyable get away.
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| Bob rests at the Cornell Garden |
That's what's been happening here at Thistledown. We're keeping busy and trying to stay cool. It's nice to have Bob home to help me in the garden. He's still enjoying full time retirement very much.
We hope that all of you will enjoy a balance of work and relaxation this season, and we'll be in touch again next month.
Till Next Time,
Kathleen and Bob
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| Keep smiling! |
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| Sun on a smokey day |
