Tiny Wonder
Yesterday, as I was heading out the back door, a little hummingbird flew inside the house. As it was flying against the windows trying to get out, I debated what to do. Thinking I could herd it outside, I walked around to the other side. When I got close, it stopped fluttering and perched on the windowsill. I reached for it and it just looked at me while I grabbed it softly.
I took it to the living room to show Mr Chiots (who took the photo). When I took it to the back door and opened my hand, it flew away. No doubt these little birds are used to me in the garden, they hover close to me when I’m filling their feeders or weeding. I’m glad it was an easy process to rescue this little lady and send her on her way. No doubt she’ll be flying south soon.
Have you ever had to rescue birds or other wildlife?
Share this:
Friday Favorite: Frozen Strawberries
Way back in June, we had a flush of strawberries. Our patch produced over 100 quarts of berries. A few went into a batch of jam, some were eaten fresh, some went to the neighbors, and the rest were frozen. Lately, on these hot days, I’ve been enjoying strawberry smoothies for my lunch.
They’re quick to make, tasty to eat, and give me just the right boost of energy without being too filling. I add frozen strawberries to the blender, a spoonful of Greek yogurt, a pinch of salt, and a splash of maple syrup. Whir it all up and enjoy!
What’s your favorite quick meal on a hot day of garden work?
Share this:
Groan…..
Last night I was way too tired to write my blog post. Yesterday, I spent the day salvaging bricks from a friend’s house. They lost their home to a fire ten days ago, a complete loss. It’s very sad, but they didn’t want things to go to waste, so a friend and I got plants and landscaping materials from their gardens.
I removed bricks from their patio and walkway, loaded as many as I could carry in my little car, then came home and unloaded them. I made three trips yesterday, the last batch of bricks is still in the car since I arrived home after dark. There are still around 250 bricks in my stack at her house waiting for me to bring home. We are hoping that these lovely pavers will make up the floor of the greenhouse we’re planning at the moment. In total I should end up with enough bricks for the floor of the 8×12 building. My back is feeling the work this morning, I groaned heavily before getting out of bed. It’s nice to get things for free and to keep something perfectly usable from going to a landfill. No doubt, my friend will be happy that her garden pathways will live on in my garden.
Do you salvage items for the garden? What’s the best thing you’ve managed to find?
Share this:
Rain, Sweet Rain
It’s been dry here in Maine like it has been in other parts of the country. During half of June, all of July, and half of August we didn’t get much rain at all. A tenth of an inch here, a tenth of an inch there, it didn’t even add up to an inch.
Then we got three inches in one day, which is a lot, all at once, but I’ll take it!!! It looks like we’ll have a lot of rain over the coming week, which is great because the apple trees are all wilted and drooping heavily with fruit. Hopefully my fall crops will certainly appreciate it, I’ll be out planting them tomorrow in preparation for a good rain.
How’s the rain situation in your garden?
Share this:
Gold Medal Tomato
I harvested my first big heirloom beefsteak tomato, which is quite nice for our area. The other beefsteaks are a few weeks away still. It’s no wonder this tomato is called ‘Gold Medal’, and aptly so.
They’re large tomatoes, with good flavor and quite beautiful color.
It’s a delicious tomato, in fact I took one to a cookout on Saturday and everyone loved it. I harvested another one yesterday and we enjoyed it for breakfast and dinner.
How are you tomatoes doing? What’s your favorite beefsteak?
