Farm Life is Busy

[clarentine]

Here we are several days before solstice, and the garden and orchard are in full swing. The spinach and radishes are done. The beets are producing lovely jewels for my lunches. Early peaches have already finished, though the late ones aren’t ready for picking just yet. The Damson plum tree is bare of fruit, while the red plum (Santa Rosa, perhaps?) still has further to go. Zucchinis are growing under the shade of those huge, prickly leaves, and the cucumbers are just getting started. The persimmons are marble-sized green buds tucked up inside their calyxes.

I’m not doing any canning just yet; those things I will can, will be put up this autumn after spending the summer in the freezer. I’ve got a big bag of plums already in there. The early peaches got eaten – how can you resist peaches that actually smell like peaches? – but the late peaches will get put up once they’re ripe enough.

Feast your eyes! (There are more photos on my Flickr page, here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8556491@N07/)

Early peaches:


The beets rub elbows with the cucumbers and a lingering patch of cilantro:


You can see why I was talking earlier about withy hurdles! I already have my eye on willow branches, the traditional material, to use as withies for some of the hurdles.

***

Am I writing? Yeah, in moments grabbed here and there. I have a better synopsis of the Bells novel and am currently revising the novel based on that. This is the pass where the symbolism gets noticed and tightened and the stuff I usually fail to get on the page, the characters’ motivations mostly, has to be teased out and made explicit. I wish I could learn not to under-explain. I haven’t gotten to that plateau yet, though.

***

Word from the World Cup is that the US is ahead of England on goals scored in their bracket and hopefully will advance. This is a great time to have acquired a DVR, eh? *g*

Comments

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

What delicious bounty! And yes, willow withies; I do so love them in a garden.

[clarentine]

I'm looking forward to being able to do without the day-glo orange fencing. *g*

[eseme]

Oh, thanks for the photos! I must garden vicariously, as I have no outdoor space at all to call my own.

I will get to can this year though - Mom found a low-priced source for frozen blueberries, so I'll be making jam on Father's Day.

[clarentine]

I hope it won't be as hot for you in ME as it is for us in VA, then.

I gardened vicariously for years. I don't mind helping out those who must do so now. >:-)

[eseme]

It was fine. My parents have a very well insulated house. And Mom had no-sugar pectin, which is very nice (but makes smaller batches of jam). I'll have to make more jam later, and am pondering strawberry-raspberry jam next. I can pick strawberries, freeze them, and then pick raspberries later.