Gehring Road

seasoning

Just a little peek into what is happening outside... lots of planting, beautiful peonies emerging (the light pink ones for the first time since we planted them two years ago!) and the season really is in full bloom.  Which has activated my allergies for the first time in years... it hasn't been a pleasant experience... it has left me a little cranky, a bit wiped out and a wee bit desperate for some relief. But, that's the season... and there is so much to love about this season...

This season that my allergies hate but I love is also bringing us very close to the end of the school year, and I can't really describe my joy at having time to myself for a bit.  It feels like for a brief few months of the year, I'm myself. Lists are being made, books are being purchased for those days, and the anticipation is measured by the sheer amount that needs to get done in the meantime. The weekend seems to fly by while these final weeks are beginning to linger... exams, grading, cleaning all await me at school tomorrow. Instead of dwelling on what needs to be, today we plan to celebrate the opening season at our local Farmer's Market... ahh, it certainly is feeling like summer... Hope you are enjoying all that these seasons offer in your little neck of the woods. Back tomorrow! 

i'm here... we're canning

We are in the trenches here... tomatoes everywhere! I should say this inundation is actually an absolute joy considering we haven't had tomatoes from the garden to can in years. Remember these?  They've transformed! So far, we've canned twelve quarts of tomatoes, simply peeled and mashed into jars for sauce... I can't tell you how excited I am about that.  And I will be as excited in February when we crack those fresh babies open! We still have dozens of tomatoes on the verge in the garden and a basketful on our table... bountiful harvest, love that. 

I thought I'd share my favorite tomato salad with you, that's it just up there, and it makes my mouth water looking at it. It's just a tomato (juicy is best), a peeled cucumber, fresh mozzarella, basil, some sea salt, pepper and a small bit of vinegar (on the side here, Rob hates vinegar). So tasty. Is 10:30 pm late for a tomato salad? Hmm...

In other news, the floor of my loft still looks like this... and oh, I just caught sight of the date on that post... two weeks ago... really? Anyway, as I began to piece together my Strips and Bricks quilt, I noticed the awfulness of the alignment... like 1/4 of an inch extra on some of my bricks. As I tried in vain to find some explanation (other than the obvious) for that extra-ness I thought, who cuts fabric like that? I guess I do. Who fixes a quilt gone awry? I do this week. After I finish this... carefully. 

the colors of summer

We've been taking a very brief wall color break to enjoy some of the colors of summer...  

 

... even more tomatoes from the garden, few of these actually make it into the house ...

 

... roses potted and loving the back deck...

 

... the most fragrant thing in the garden... our fennel...

   

... our most unexpected triumph, melon from the garden...

   

... pesto and fresh pasta, our latest obsession...

 

... an absolute bounty of cucumbers...

 

... corn from Connie and Chip's garden...

 

 

... light and the rosebud...

   

... eggplant that turned into the most amazing dinner...

 

... blueberries in pancakes, sometimes we have this for dinner... delicious...

As you know, I adore summer... as I adore color, even though the search for the perfect grey for the bedroom alludes me. Right now I'm in a mood to hang on to these last days of summer, I so wish the end of summer and transition into what is my very favorite time of year (fall in New England, it really is an experience) didn't have such negative connotations, but alas, it does for now.  I think this year needs to be an exploration into why that is and if it should be.  In the meantime, my preparations for the coming season have begun.  I just got my copy of Amy Butler's Style Stitches and of course, found a new bag that so needs to be made for the coming year. More on that soon.  In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying all that is around you and embracing all that is to come.  Happy Thursday to you! 

how does our garden grow

The emergence of that hammock signifies summer to me... and I simply love summer. Have I mentioned that here before? Maybe once or a dozen times, I know... I can't wait to show you my view (usually book, dog, trees, sky) from that hammock... lovely. The emergence of really everything in the garden is what we're loving about summer right now. Here's what is coming up...

 

... garlic and shallots just pulled today...

 

... eggplants! We're so excited about this...  

 

...early black raspberries... already tasty...

 

... sweet baby zucchini's (and plenty of them!)

   

... tiger lilies up close and in focus... loving the new camera...

A very happy Solstice to you, I hope it finds you loving what is around you and enjoying the emerging season. Have a lovely weekend! 

outside

 

 

 

 

  
  

    

Rob is away... and as I document the happenings outside in the garden we love, I thought I'd share some images of this very important part of Gehring Road here on Saturdays. The garden has been neglected on this blog, I admit... mostly because the garden and I have a love-hate relationship.  I love to peek out and see Rob, face inches away from the plants, willing them to thrive... and they usually do. I love grabbing a fresh strawberry from the planters over the shed while walking the dog.  I love watching peppers and mesclun grow and become a salad, sunflowers popping up and the taste of peas that don't make it out of the garden. 

 But, in the past few years we've battled blight, flea beetles, woodchucks and too much rain.  The flea beetles were a low... as I sat dejectedly last year on the hill when we discovered their existence,  I dramatically imagined New Englanders of old watching their new plants be devoured by those little buggers and said to Rob, "What if we really needed the garden to survive??" Rob laughed. 

So this year, as our green thumb lovingly covered eggplant plants that last year waved a white flag of one leaf and remained sticks post-flea beetles, and grew broccoli from seed, and has planted six varieties of gourds so we can do this again, I'm reminded of how really amazing all of this growing (and the green thumb) really is.  The weekend is here... I'm going to watch this rain we're having water the garden.  Enjoy the weekend, wherever it finds you.