Beautiful Flowers and Happy Bugs

Delight found in the beauty of the Lord's creation!

My newest Delight...

Sm*sh!

Several weeks ago I discovered a new way to scrapbook, recently created by K&Comp*ny...Sm*sh. The line of seven journals/scrapbooks are made out of chipboard and filled with a selection of papers that fit within the theme of each book, and come with a special sm*sh pen that has a pen on one end and a glue stick on the other. I have been able to sm*sh bits of thing that I have collected, pictures of happy times, favorite quotes and favorite Bible verses quickly and easily onto the lovely pages, often on the go! 

My obsession with the practicality and delightfulness of this product (along with the many little bits and pieces that coordinate) has inspired me to buy these books and a couple of accessories for all of my girl friends, Mother Dearest and Elyse for their birthdays. Also...I am not a proponent of waiting for the actual day to open gifts, and will often give gifts early so that the gift can be used immediately...lovely!!!

A Different Harvest...

Honey!!!  

Our five hives of bees, bought in early spring have finally produced enough honey to harvest! My family is entirely addicted to local honey, especially the honey produced by our own bees. I love the taste as well as the fact that eating local honey has been proven to help with allergies...amazing.

honey frames collected this morning

wax and honey collected from one frame

one side of one frame...sealed by the bees

honey dripping from inside several of the cells

we were amazed by the white color of this wax and the gorgeous light amber color of the honey

Dehydrated Garden!

Mother Dearest researched the easiest way to process the incredibly plentiful harvest. Her favorite idea was...dehydration! Armed with a colorful paring knife, a cutting board and her new Excalibur dehydrator...she (and any one who was home to help) declared war on the baskets full of vegetables.

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More processed and dehydrated veggies:

green beans

zucchini

shredded and sliced

onions

 eggplant

San Marzano Tomatoes

Early this Spring, I was gifted a collection of Italian seeds. Included in this seed collection was purple onions, winter cherry tomatoes (if left on the vine and stored in a cool dry place, they will stay good for months after harvested), and San Marzano tomato seeds. Daddy and Mother Dearest were quite excited by the possibility of Italian tomatoes, and were nearly ecstatic after conducting some research. 

The amazing story and great significance of this tomato can be read by clicking below:

Royalty, emmigration, 70 years of glory, gradual neglect, forsaken, replaced, threat of extinction, rescue, redemption, prosperity, politics, public relations, protectionism, DNA testing, and the most ironic outcome of all: - this is the story of the San Marzano Tomato that few people in America know about.

Having discovered that San Marzanos are considered the best tomatoes to make into sauce...Daddy began a campaign to coddle and prod those seeds to the point of production and harvest. The seeds were planted in peat pods and carefully cared for: kissed, hugged, given several hours of sunlight daily, and tucked into their bed on the kitchen table. When the weather seemed to be just right, those baby plants were transplanted into the garden...two fifty foot rows of Italian tomato plants.

As they grew, Mother Dearest designed a new way to tie them up (no cages), Daddy learned that there are more tomatoes per plant than the American varieties that he has grown. More fruit, but smaller leaves...which led to sun rot. Sunshades were placed on the west side of the rows. And then they began to produce...and produce...and produce!

These tomatoes are simply marvelous!

A bit daunted by the prospect of one hundred feet of massively producing tomato plants, Mother Dearest researched additional ways to process San Marzano tomatoes. Her favorite of the options...dehydration. We have been cleaning, slicing, placing, dehydrating and bagging these lovely tomatoes, which can be re-hydrated to make sauce at a later date!

Then and Now...Growing Garden

Due to a busy summer the posting of pictures of the garden has been delayed...the following pictures were taken in June.

growing squash

 beans

tomatoes

zucchini

Much has changed in the garden since June...the zucchinis are almost done producing,

the tomato harvest is in full swing, the squash is ready to harvest and the beans are in the process of being shelled. 

view of the beans, American tomatoes, and tomatillo peppers

         

Italian tomatoes: winter cherry tomatoes and San Marzanos

 butternut squash

 shelled beans