The garden in July

Although the Pacific Northwest has suffered from record high temperatures and drought, my garden seems happy.  It's cranking out a lot of food - something for every meal of the day.  The still life below shows pesto-in-the-making with a hefty salad.

We grow a large garden, with almost every vegetable you can imagine, except okra and other Southern veggies.  Come to think of it, this hot year would have probably worked for stuff like that.

The main garden is relatively well maintained, although you can always find weeds.  But there is a corner of our land where we planted squash, beans and corn this year, a corner where the goats are fenced close by, but not not close enough to foster frequent weeding and watering efforts by us.

So imagine my surprise when I inspected said area today on my way to leading the goats to pasture.  Zucchinis as big as baseball bats hid in the foliage, and I didn't even know the zucchinis were growing yet!  As big as a baseball bat, I tell you!  It scared me.  Fortunately, the goats considered that thing a huge delicacy and polished it off in no time.

The bean plants, having been so cruelly forgotten by me, had found their way into the squashes, intertwining their tendrils with theirs.  I had to carefully untangle their passionate embraces and tie up the beans where they belong - on the bean pole tipis.

I hope they won't resent me.

Ahhhh, yes, I am grateful for all the lovely, fresh veggies in our garden.  The cabbages are big enough to make sauerkraut with.  The spring-planted garlic is putting out scapes, soon to be made into pesto.  Broccoli is coming out of our ears.  The kids keep pulling out carrots for a snack, which is fine with me.  The beets are large enough to be processed into honeyed pickled beets.  And the tomatoes!  The incredibly flavorful, ripe, red tomatoes!  We harvest a basket full every single day.  And the poppies are going nuts, but I don't use them for anything except beauty!

And of course blueberries... We have lots growing on our place, but we often go to the nearby organic blueberry farm to pick many pounds worth.  It helps to take the kids, since they are a real help, except when they are not (as is the case with Eva and her friend, who would rather stuff berries into their mouths instead of the picking basket).

This summer we are finding plenty of time to go to the river and pond.  There are birthday parties and playdates and blissful days spent eating melons by the water with friends.  I love summer!

And of course cheese making never stops.  Ohh, remember, there are only a few days left to register for my online cheese making workshop!