Silence

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Mother Teresa

Good fresh, cool, cloudless sky, Sunday morning to you all. Thanks for coming back to see what's happening.

Well, Fall is setting in slowly which means the garden has been dismantled :-( It gave all it had to give for this season, so I took in the last of it all & broke it down, with a heavy heart, of course :-)

This is the last of the bounty - as you can see - I DID get a few bell peppers, even though if the weather wasn't changing, I would've gotten more, I know.

If you've been to this spot ever, you KNOW that's not my watermelon (LOL!) I could've lied & said it was, but you know... with it being Sunday and all. But there's no way my melon could've grown to this size - maybe next year when I start super early. This little beauty came from the Farmer's Market, but I thought it made a good 'fill in.' :-)

It's hard to start any earlier than Mother Nature will allow here in the big OH - you may think it's okay, then it may snow overnight while you sleep! It's dicey.

Oh, finally - the cabbages. I got four small heads & 2 freezer bags of leaves. You cannot freeze cabbage (learned that the hard way some years ago), so we will be eating it very soon.

I thought I'd spare you pictures of the grueling process of prepping the cabbage. Umm... who knew there would be so much dirt (duh) leaves, bugs, SLUGS!.... I had to scrub each leaf with a soft toothbrush & wash each batch at least four times each.

Now when I go into the grocery or farmer's markets & see the cabbages 'buy ready' form, I will bow down in respect for whoever prepped them to that point. Well... I guess that's the life of a gardener :-)

Finally, with all of my fresh veggies (and my always present bag of spinach - a mainstay in my diet), I will grace my blessings with this new salad dressing. Doesn't it sound delish? Marc's has a huge selection of all types of dressings - I try to experience them all.

"D" rolls his eyes @ the flavors I bring home. All he wants is Italian and/or "ranch sauce" (Ranch). Sigh... how boring. Those flavors are SO 1970... (LOL!)

Thank you guys for spending the summer in the garden with me. I don't wanna stop posting here, so I think I'll come back & post the Fall leaves' change, if you don't mind. I can't just leave you guys hanging!

Until next time - see you soon. Please come back & check for Fall photos - I'll have more of 'em than you can shake a stick at!

Oh - and a special shout-out to my new reader, Gail - thank you for squeaking in here @ the end of the season - it was good having you and I'm so glad you enjoyed this spot. Please come back & check for Fall photos so we can stay in touch :-)

"Small"

"Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures."

~H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book

Picture by Me: "pot snobbery at its smallest :o). And for the record, I own a copy of Life's Little Instruction Book & it is truly adorable. The simplest, smallest things..."

Happy Summer

Even though it seems to have come around with blinding speed, today is the first day of Summer!! I wish the following for all of you:

• that all summer vacations are safe, fun & restful (if all those can be done in 1 trip)
• that your back, front & side yards, patios, porches & decks be filled with friends & family
• that your grills (whether charcoal, gas or electric) sizzle with the goodness of grilled foods
• that your fruit trees bare the best-est, sweetest fruits, ever
• that your gardens yield a bountiful harvest of all you plant
• that the sunshine warms your face
• that the sprinkler water is cool
• that the grass & cement feel warm under your toes
• that your wardrobe never consist of more than shorts, tanks, t-shirts & sandals
  
• and that your days are filled every moment of things you love and enjoy.

Have a safe, great summer! :-)