Feels Like Summer!

Hello!!  I am back from a mini vacay in Palm Springs.  My husband was in Cabo San Lucas on his annual fishing trip with the men folk, and I went with the ladies of the family to enjoy a few days in Palm Springs.  It was delightful.  Perfect weather, a beautiful pool, great company, and an all around good time.
Yes, Summer is here.

 This morning when I was watering my garden, I was just astounded at all of the pumpkins growing!  I have only planted pumpkins once before, and they didn't ever get past the leaf stage.  These have taken off like wild fire!!    I counted at least three dozen on the vines, and there could very well be more.

You need a lot of space for pumpkins to grow well.  I made a hill on the side of the house, just outside the gate to the yard.  It is opposite the garden, but is actually in the front.  Up against the garage sort of.  This is how it looks walking to the garden from the back patio area.

 Garden shed to left, and gate to the front on the right.

There is a concrete pad on the side of the house, next to the garage, and this is where I planted the pumpkins.  It gets full sun, and seems to be a perfect place for them.  We had a gigantic bouganvillia there for the 20 years we have lived in this house, but had it removed last year.  I leveled the area, and intend to move the whole fence up about 50 feet to utilize this entire space for my garden.  Hopefully by next  Spring.

I have watermelons planted inside a drawer planter, and had a couple seeds leftover so I stuck them in this mound along with the pumpkins.  They are growing, but are dwarfed by the vines of the pumpkins
The blooms are just gorgeous on these vines!!

See the pumpkin starting there?

The garden is bursting all over.  Barely any room at all to walk between boxes, and I am constantly trimming away the elephant ear shaped leaves of the zucchini and yellow squash so that I can walk by.

I think I will have a good amount of cucumbers too.  They are coming in nicely.

I have enormous cabbages.  They are revealing their tightly curled leaves, and soon the completed cabbage heads will be nestled in amongst the outer leaves, ready to be picked.

I am going to have broccoli coming out of my ears!!!

The plants are huge, and they are now beginning to form the florets. 
My corn stalks are taller than me, with silky strands spraying out the tops, like a firecracker.

I have many clusters of tomatoes on the vines, but none are near picking just yet.

The cantaloupe are fanning out, climbing this way, and that.  Loaded with their sunny yellow flowers that will soon be nubby balls of sweetness.  Nothing better for breakfast than a melon right off the vine!

I have a box of watermelons planted in my stacked drawers.  These will meander out of the box, and up onto the fence, and along the ground as well.

 I have grown melons before, and boy were they good!!!  I hope these will be too!
The peppers, green beans, sweet peas, lettuce, spinach, basil, cilantro, cabbage, arugula and broccoli are all stretching out as far as they can go, creating lush and full boxes.

I love to snack on these succulent strawberries, sweet and warm by the early sun.

I took this picture from the chicken coop and run area.

Looking up above the chicken coop and run, I could see that there are still many avocados to be picked.  I need to do that.  Last night I wanted a ripe avocado, and there was not a one to be found in the kitchen.

Gardening, for me, is medicinal.  It feeds my soul.  I love to work outside.  I love to come out here first thing in the morning, and see what new surprise I have.  Not just in the vegetable garden, but in the yards too.  My nasturtiums that I planted from seed have been showing off their brilliant jewel shades.  But gol darn it, my chickens love to eat them!!!

Look at all of the nibbling that has been going on there!!  I try to remember to put a little something up there to block the girls from getting to them.  They like to venture out onto the back yard grass when the sun heads down.
I spend a good deal of my time out here on the patio off the house.  Having put up that dropcloth shade curtain has made all the difference in the world.   And putting this comfy chaise out here, has become the most sought after spot of all.

 

I made that quilt for my son Drew when he was about 10 years old.  His room was done in a patriotic Americana theme.  And it looked so nice across the end of his bed.  He has drug it in and out with him as he has come and gone, and both he and the quilt are here again.  So I made some repairs to the binding and put it out on the patio to cozy up with.

My old Wellies have been repurposed.  I guess I am becoming like my Great Aunts Emma and Ella.  They saved every container, every jar, everything!  

I often take my lunch break right here on the patio, with a favorite magazine to read.

Back when Walmart still sold fabric, I bought this bird fabric there, along with several matching panels.  I made this table topper, and did the borders and back in a Sunbrella fabric made for outdoors.  I have even used it as a throw rug in the house.  I just wash it up and dry it on the line, and it keeps looking brand new, now 5 years going.  Walmart used to sell some bangup good deals on fabrics.  I have even bought one or two, or more, entire bolts!!!  I bought my living room curtain fabric there.  ONE dollar a yard!  Crazy!!

In the summer, we often eat our dinner out here too.  Last night I grilled up some burgers on my Lodge Cast Iron Grill pan.  Greg usually bbq's them, but he came home from Cabo with an aching back, so I grilled them for him.  I also grilled some of my young yellow squash.  Just brushed them with a bit of olive oil, and then sprinkled them will sea salt.  Stuck them down on the grill pan on the bias for those nice carmelized grill marks.

Mmmmm, mmm..mmmmmm!!!  Everything tastes good on a red Fiesta Ware plate!!! When we moved Nana last week, I came home with the last of her Fiesta Ware collection.  I plan to add to it!!

 The days are growing longer, and warmer!  I went over to test the temperature of the pool today.  Greg put the solar cover on it before he left for Mexico.  It is "perfect swimming" degrees!!!  Think I will go for a dip!

I am considering running away for a few days.  If I can get someone to feed the farm and water the crops!  I don't ever mean to make it appear that my life is perfect.  It certainly is not.  Is there such a thing?  I have hurts and disappointments just like anyone else.  I usually find that when I am in a difficult place, I spend my time working with my hands.  It calms me.  There have been some bumps in our life here recently.  Nothing that won't eventually smooth out.  But I have felt a bit like running away.  So if I am absent from blogging for a bit, I am most probably up in Big Bear, high in the mountains, where I feel peace and calm.  Some folks go shopping.  I go to Big Bear.  Or work in the yard.  

Have a good rest of your week.  I leave you with this thought, a quote I love.

"We may not have it all together, but together we have it all"

XO  Kris