The Dog Is A Horse and 9 Other Random Tidbits

1. The neighborhood bear has been moving around a lot lately, so of course the dog has been barking alot too. She has barked so much that she is hoarse.....

2. We ate green beans for dinner the other night...and they were the best I've ever tasted!

3. I have decided to close the U-pick garden down earlier than I had initially advertised. I had originally planned on closing September 6, but I've decided on Saturday, August 31 instead, after the Farmer's Market. I need some time to haul salmon and seaweed....and frankly the pickings here are getting pretty slim.

4. My Mom has the most beautiful Hollyhocks growing in her flowerbeds....

She collected seeds from them for me and gave me a whole box full.  I scattered them all over my garden.....but it seems that ducks like tender little Hollyhock plants. Out of all the seeds I scattered, only 3 plants were sneaky enough to grow. This year they bloomed...and while they are pretty, they are not nearly as beautiful as my Mother's.

5. I left Levi in Anchorage and I didn't cry.....but I wanted to a little bit.

6. I absolutely LOVE Sunflowers.

I've seen "pollenless"  Sunflower varieties advertised in seed catalogs. I can't imagine Sunflowers without pollen. One of my favorite things to do is to watch a bee wallow around in a Sunflower absolutely covered in pollen. Most of the time the bees are just whizzing around my garden at a pretty good clip...but when it comes Sunflower season, they slow down and spend hours and hours on the same plant....almost drunk with pleasure.

 Now, someone more educated than me would probably say that the bees are lethargic and sick from being weighted down with all the pollen, or that the Sunflower's nectar is really difficult for them to extract....but I like to believe that they are just happy and content and that they love Sunflowers as much as I do.

 7. The pink Opium Poppies in my garden have outdone themselves this year....

photo courtesy of Sarah Eischen

Don't judge me.

7. Curving paths that disappear around a corner in the garden are so inviting.....

photo courtesy of Sarah Eischen

There are so many straight utilitarian lines in my garden that I need to remind myself to make things curvy and pretty here and there when I can.

8. I am obsessed with trying to find and/or make more flavorful food....

This Bruschetta mix is amazing......I think I can make something similar to it if I make a paste out of sundried tomatoes and add it to my pesto.

9. Most of the time when I go out to lock the ducks in for the night they are either grouped together at the entrance of the hutch are already inside the hutch waiting for me.... except for one recalcitrant  female. She just doesn't want to go in when the other ducks do, so I have to "chase" her in. And every time she runs in late, one of the males meets her inside the hutch and chases her down and pecks her! I think he's punishing her for being late!

10. The Fireweed is done blooming and the seed "fluff" is flying all over town....

Sadly, this means that Summer is over and Fall is here.