Yard art ideas from the county fair!!

           

       

Well I guess all the pictures aren’t yard art! 

Can you say raspberries!!

I just couldn’t decide where to plant raspberries.  Then I thought.. near the house so I can munch on them on nice mornings!  Between the house and this patch will be a patio…  I envision breakfast on the patio within reach of the raspberry bushes!  yum!

The invasion of the milkweed!!

They keep growing and growing!  I had all I could do to keep from posting all the pictures I took.  The growth is so amazing.  The flowers at the end of June were so fragrant and the overhead shots from the house I just can’t believe.  Remember that fence is 5 feet high and they are now about 5 feet above that!  Now where are those Monarchs??

How to remove critters from your yard… maybe…

Make a feeding place for the cute little bunnies who eat all the plants or maybe the chipmunks who cause havoc.  Use a mailbox with peanuts inside.  Put it within reach of the dogs HOPING that the dogs will see them before they see the dogs and turn to run out right into the waiting jaws of the predator dogs…  By the way..  why do they eat rabbits and just kill the chipmunks and leave them lying around in the yard for me to find?

              

Getting closer…

Sometimes I just procrastinate about projects…  A few holes in this and some bottles on the ends and it will be ready to inset into the pallet as a drainage system!

ok..  so let’s do the progress report in the same post… Insert piping into pallet… fill with straw and dirt…. plant what’s left of the stawberries…  water….  cover with straw (yes they have light)…  pray….

    

Oh how she loves…

…lounging in the beginning of the new compost heap…

picking eggplant and recipes

Eggplant Parmesan

Grilled Eggplant Sandwich

Eggplant Dip

Roasted Eggplant Dip with Yogurt

Lesson’s learned…

Start sooner…. This straw bale gardening is going to work..  it’s a wonder these plants are even alive!

What’s below was unplanned.  There were yet more tomato plants without homes so I thought “why not”….
The plan is to cover this area to extend the season and for next year to start it earlier. we’ll see!

Out front…

           

   

and a little artsy….

Whole Grain Raspberry Bars

Thanks Mavis!

Holy raspberry season Batman! I am swimming in them and looking for raspberry recipes to try. This one looked like a perfect treat for breakfast and it did not disappoint. Plus it’s on the healthier side, which makes me feel like Mom of the Year when I feed it to my kids.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats {I used old fashioned}
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (oat flour)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
1/4 cup wheat germ (flax seed)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil (olive oil)
1 egg (egg beaters)

Raspberry Filling
1 pint raspberries
1/4 cup sugar (stevia)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer 2 minutes while continuing to stir constantly until sauce is thick and translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine oats, flour, sugar, wheat germ and cinnamon in a food processor. Process until oats are finely ground { I totally forgot to grind mine and the bars still turned out great!}. Add oil and egg, and pulse until combined. Press half of the crumb mixture evenly on bottom of a 9×9 baking pan/dish. Pour raspberry filling over crumbs, spreading evenly. Top with remaining crumbs and gently pat mixture down. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let bars cool completely before cutting into bars.

Cucumbers!!

• Harvest regular slicing cucumbers when they about 6 to 8 inches long (slicing varieties).
• Harvest dills at 4 to 6 inches long and pickles at 2 inches long for pickles. The large cucumbers can be up to 10 inches long and some types are even larger.
• Cucumbers are best picked before they seeds become hard and are eaten when immature. Do not let them get yellow. A cucumber is of highest quality when it is uniformly green, firm and crisp. 
• Any cucumbers left on the vine too long will also get tough skins and lower plant productivity.
• At peak harvesting time, you should be picking cucumbers every couple of days.
• Keep them picked. If you don’t, as plants mature, they will stop producing.
• Cucumbers are over 90 percent water. Store wrapped tightly in plastic wrap to retain moisture.
• They will keep for a week to 10 days when stored properly in the refrigerator.

not just tomatoes….

The fire pit…

Now that it’s this far I want to change it and dig out the middle
part and fill it with sand and gravel…  AT least all the blocks are
there in the same place!

Ready for blueberry bushes….

Well …. not exactly..  there is the matter of wire to keep rabbits and voles out and
Oh yes..  dirt and straw and once I’ve gathered all that,
THEN the bushes can be transplanted there and I won’t have to watch Jake and Brita crash through them where they are!  What was I thinking!!  ! 

Amazing growth!

My plan is for this tomato plant to grow to the end of the long bed and not up the fence because I have another tomato plant you can see in the background that I will have grow up the fence.

Ahh… the first tomatoes…

I LOVE The dark/black varieties!
The little one in the front is a cherry tomato!

Milkweed update….

The storm battered some down
but for the most part, they are
all still pretty darn good!

Do you notice it?

The fence was up and there are yet more blocks moved around!  I guess I need to SECURE the fence also to keep K9 critters out!!

More blocks!

Collecting the crescent ones for a patio by the garden shed when I get to fixing it up!