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| July color: echinacea and crepe myrtles. |
July has been such a busy month that it seems I should be saying it's a relief it's nearly over. But August will be just as busy, as building, gardening, harvesting, preserving, and researching continue their fast and furious pace. The amazing thing about July was all the rainfall and cooler temperatures. "Cooler" is a relative term, of course, but the highs only got to about 90°F (32°C), many days cooler. That's ten degrees cooler than what we usually expect this time of year.
To close out the month, here are a few shots from my July photo folder.
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| Freshly picked okra and tomatoes |
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| Corn in the garden. |
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| Cucumbers in the garden. |
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| Cucumbers in salad (with hard-boiled eggs and feta cheese) |
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| Blueberries in pie. (That first fresh blueberry pie is always the best!) |
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| Hudson hoping for a treat of leafy blueberry branches. |
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| Harvested pears |
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| Canned pears |
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| Pied pears |
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| Iris and Jessie in the old goat barn. (Moving day approaches). |
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| Muscovy Mama on the tree we need to cut up for firewood. |
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| Fresh figs |
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| Frozen figs |
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| Figs in gingerbread pancakes |
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| Solar cooked comfort food at the end of a busy day. |
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| Meowy at the end of a busy day. |
Photo Wrap-Up for July © July 2018 by
I'm trying to work out what the design is on your gate?
ReplyDeleteIt’s a goat head 🐐🙂
DeleteWhat beautiful harvests and photos of your farm. I don't always comment, but read every single post. I'm living vicariously through you both!!! On another note, I'm so glad Dan's hand is doing better.
ReplyDeleteTania, it's a goat's head! Dan copied it from my Kikobian Books publishing logo.
ReplyDeleteAudra, how nice to hear from you! Thank you for your kind words. I enjoy your blog too. :)
Thank you for that! I often wonder if anyone out there is reading mine. I don't get anywhere near the amount of comments you get on yours! I think I'm going to try that chicken and mashed potatoes dish you just posted! :-)
ReplyDeleteAudra, I think comments are always down this time of year. Folks who are interested in the subject matter are usually busy with their own gardens and harvest! I have also noticed that a lot of blogs have been neglected over the course of the past year. It's a lot of work to write posts and take photos, but I also wonder how many of them are still going, especially homesteaders. Are they still there? No way to know, but I can't help but wonder.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I read this post right after breakfast or lunch would have come very early today!
ReplyDeleteLoved looking at your pictures. What a beautiful place you have and so much food that you can pick! Neat how you can solar cook! I don't think you will ever lack for things to do! Nancy
ReplyDeleteI've hardly ever gotten comments in the years of doing mine. In fact, when I compared my blog to yours and all the comments you get, I honestly almost gave up doing my blog. But my hubby convinced me otherwise. So I just do it for the joy of it and try not to worry about the readers (but as you can see, it still makes me wonder). What are you going to do with all the figs?
ReplyDeleteAll that wonderful food! I love the goat head on your barn door - it looks fabulous! Ginger pancakes? Be still my heart!
ReplyDeleteJust ... WOW! But then, you had me at PIE! LOL Great pics and fabulous harvests. So many figs. Are those duck eggs that have such hUgE yolks (really wall-to-wall yellow). I'll bet you are as tired as Meowy these days so hope you and Dan are finding time to chill and enjoy your efforts. Take care.
ReplyDeleteEd, lol, I know what you mean. I also notice that I tend to post lots of sweets! That doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteNancy, thanks! You are so right about never lacking things to do, which means we'll never be bored! I love feeling productive.
Audra, I have to say that I would blog even if no one commented. I can't tell you how valuable it has been as a journal and record of things. Sometimes Dan and I look back over posts and say, "that's what we were doing a year ago? Hard to believe!" It really helps when the to-do list gets discouragingly long. It helps to see what's been accomplished, along with notes of what to do better next time. As a personal journal at least, it's a great resource.
Susan, thank you! Food is always a winner, isn't it? ;)
Kris, thanks! I'm a HUGE fan of pie, as you probably figured out. :) Duck eggs are big and do have lovely large yellow yolks. They are superb for baking!
That looks like a beautiful and productive July!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous garden and harvest! I love looking at your pictures. I have a question about your cucumbers. Do you have to tie them up a lot to get them to climb? Ours want very much to spread like our squashes. At first I get to them early enough to tie them up and some tendrils take hold. But before I know it they have spread far and wide. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHello Leigh! What great pics and such inspiration for those of us who want to be like you when we grow up, ha. Oh my the pies look divine. I love your echinacea area. Is it like that year round? Those are perennials aren't they? I've been thinking of clearing a swath of grass near the house and doing something like that. Just wondering if you planted a few and they reseeded to end up like that or if you planted a few dozen and just let them do their thing. I think they do well in our weather and they are so pretty (and have the bonus of a health benefits).
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so nice. The coneflowers in front of the house are so inviting. And, really, is there anything better than some good pannacakes for supper after a hard day of work? Keep up all the good work! Phil/Minnesota
ReplyDeleteM.K., almost too productive, LOL
ReplyDeleteAnn, thanks! I don't tie my cucumbers, but I do poke the vines through the trellis, because, as you say, they tend to want to spread. Tying is a good idea too. Either way, it is so much easier to find the cucumbers that way!
1st Man, thanks! Yes, the echinacea is perennial, although mine die back and go dormant in winter. But they are back every spring and it doesn't take long before they fill in an area nicely. They can always be counted on for nice color all summer long. I originally started them from seed, and that particular bed was transplanted from a bed closer to the house. I do like it out in the yard like that. I'd like my entire front yard to be filled with flower and herb beds!
Phil, good to hear from you! I love pancakes any time!
I am in love with your home! Such a storybook charmer. Love everything from the Crepe Myrtles to the trim on the house.
ReplyDeleteThe garden and goats look super and happy all around. Could you share your recipe for pear pie? I have a quart of canned pears from a friends orchard and
was thinking my standard fall back Pear Quick bread but the pie has my interest. I also have a quart of her home grown cherries if you have any recipes you feel are out of the box for those. Of course both of the quarts are water pack no syrup.
Thank you for sharing Leigh.
Lovely photographs. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCorn Envy. I had not gotten a single good harvest since we moved 9 years ago. Corn just does not like this Southern weather - or maybe it just does not like me.
Goatldi, the house is a work in progress, but I can't tell you when we'll get it done! Actually, Dan is getting anxious to finish the barn so he can get back to work on it. Part of the roof leaks and must be fixed better than the big tarp we have thrown over it!
ReplyDeleteFor the pear pie, I just used a recipe for apple. Worked really well. For a 9" pie the filling was 4 cups peeled and sliced pears, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Really good and Dan wants to try it next with a few raisins tossed in too. The pear quick bread sounds really good too, so maybe you'll pass that one on to me!
TB, I have to tell you that this has been my best corn patches ever. Usually we try to grow a quarter-acres worth, but it never seems to do well enough to justify it, so I cut it back to just enough for cornmeal this winter. I think a lot of it has to do with rain at the right time. Most summers we get a long dry spell but this year we've done really well in the rain department.
Simply a wonderful post...it really shows the marvelous results we can have on our land...even with problems and set backs, the good wins😊
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks like it turned out good. I've enjoyed all the photo's. Have a lovely evening.
ReplyDeleteFiona, thanks! Having a camera is a really helpful way to record even the little things. They all add up to a sense of being productive. :)
ReplyDeleteSimply Farmhouse, it did! We've been blessed with plenty of rain so that helps. :)
Ashley, yes!