I Spy With My Little Eye . . .

Several nights ago my beau was giving me flak for the lack of watermelons in my garden. His criticism was aimed at the fact that it's already the middle of July and there are no watermelons in my garden; therefore, I only have half of a summer left and no time left for fruit to develop and ripen. I unwillingly conceded with him, agreeing that I have lots of watermelon plants, but no fruit, and will probably not have any watermelon this summer.

Well, guess what I discovered today while weeding my garden. Underneath all the weeds (seriously, it has been about a month or two since I last weeded) I saw two small round fruits and a baby fruit beginning to sprout. Can you find these three fruits in the picture.? With these finds, especially the two round fruits, my faith has been renewed, and I believe that I will harvest at least two watermelons this summer from my garden.

Blueberry Picking

I didn't want to pick more blueberries, really. I was content with all the berries I got from my own three bushes. I snacked on much of it as breakfast and I even froze some to make smoothies. But, this morning, I it struck me that blueberry season was coming to an end in my backyard; therefore, blueberry season was going to come to an end for the season. Thoughts of no more fresh blueberries to be made into jam, to be made into a buckle (a semi-fancy name for a blueberry coffee cake), and just to eat fresh made me very sad. I was really motivated to make blueberry jam (I have yet to make blueberry jam) and a blueberry buckle.

So I called around and ended up at a you-pick-farm near the Twin Cities. The harsh weather storm yesterday didn't harm the berries but it left lots of water on the berries. I picked as best as I could, considering that the farm didn't have a lot of blueberry bushes and there were actually a lot of early morning risers, up to pick berries on a Sunday. Also, many of the bushes were already picked over. I only picked about four-pounds worth of fruit, but it was sufficient to make a small batch of jam, a blueberry buckle, and enough to eat fresh.

Drenched, But Blessed

It's about 9:15 p.m. and I just got home. I was at work today (yes, it's a Saturday, and yes, I stayed late). I left earlier in the afternoon to finish up some necessary closing of cases at work. I took the bus and didn't drive, thinking I was going to leave early. As always, once I'm on a roll, I couldn't get myself to leave. It was HOT and HUMID this morning, so I presumed that it would continue into the evening. Was I ever wrong.

By 6 p.m. dark clouds rolled in and I saw lightning. I think it may have rained, but the clouds cleared for a bit and the sun came through. Believing that the worst was over, I decided to stay until 8:15 p.m. When I got out of the building I knew that I should have left early. Due to the Twins game, I had to walk about a quarter of a mile to get to my bus stop. Several large gusts of wind blew at my back, telling me to hurry up. I got to my bus stop just in time to take refuge under the eave of a building when the rain came down.

And the rain REALLY came down. It came down fast and furious. Then it came down in sheets. It came down so hard that it hurt my eyes. Despite the building eave protecting me (and several other people waiting for the bus), the wind blew a lot of the rain toward my way. I was drenched. I looked up at the sky and stated that it looked like "tornado" conditions.

Eventually, my bus came and I hurried out into the bus. When I got off at my stop, I had to walk home. Even though it was about a quarter of a mile walk home, I jogged most of the way home. On my way home I noticed the large fallen branch blocking the sidewalk and that a large tree (yes, a tree) fell on an empty lot (probably due to the strong winds). Of course I was soaked when I reached my front door. I entered my home, happy and blessed. I'm thankful that I have shelter (with a solid roof) and that I wasn't hit by lightning.

Now, a warning just flashed across the television screen stating that a tornado may be heading towards parts of southern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. Outside, the rain continues to pound, along with huge gusts of wind, thunder and lightning. I'm trying to warm myself up right now, but I'm just so glad for everyone and everything I have in my life. Hope everything is well with you.

Raspberry Patch

[Taken July 12, 2010.]

Locks of Love

For those who have seen me for the last two-plus years, you will know that I've been saving my hair to donate to Locks of Love. In case if you're not familiar with Locks of Love, it's a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to disadvantaged youths that have long term hair loss. You can find out more about Locks of Love at the following website: http://www.locksoflove.org/index.html

I've saved my hair for quite some time and I admit that at certain times it was unpleasant to have long hair. I've always favored short hair over long hair, probably because I love "wash and go" hair, but since I knew that I would donate my hair, I decided that the longer the better. While saving my hair, I also roped my beau into saving his hair too. We promised that we would cut or hair together once it got long enough.

Well . . . today was the day for our haircuts. We headed over to Great Clips and got free haircuts. The cool thing, other than getting free hair cuts, was that Great Clips will send the hair to Locks of Love for us. I donated approximately eighteen-inches of hair, while my beau donated about ten-inches. Woo-hoo. I hope our hair gets turned into hairpieces for someone special.

More Rain

This summer has been unusual, to say the least. Hot, muggy days have been interspersed with rainy days. Sometimes, the rain comes down in torrents, like right now (with thunder and lightening), and other days, it comes down quietly.

I love the rain and I'm always glad to get rain, especially when summers' past have been quite dry. However, I am also pleading for some sunny days. My hot peppers, tomatoes, and watermelons need some sun.

Cats and Dogs Cupcakes

[I made these on June 19, 2010.]

Cherries Galore

Where did June go to? I can't believe that it's already July. Generally, this means that strawberry season is over (unless you grow everbearing strawberries), and for me it means that summer becomes not just hot, but also very muggy. It also means that sour cherry season will be ending soon too.

As I posted earlier, my cherry tree produced a lot more cherries, in which I froze. I have yet to use the cherries, although I already have great plans for these fruit. In addition to the fruit from my tree, guess what? I've gotten a great windfall of sour cherries from people living across the street. They don't do anything with the fruit and the very thought of all that fruit going to waste brings tears to my eyes. Of course, I asked for permission to pick and it was granted. So, as of late, I've gotten some booty of the sour variety kind.

I don't know what variety the cherry is. All I know is that it is a sour cherry, and when it's ripe, it is dark red, the flesh is a deep burgundy, and the juice is wine red. The cherries on my Mesabi cherry tree, when ripe, is a beautiful bright red, the flesh is yellow, and the juices run either clear or with a yellow tint. I also know that these cherries are fantastic when turned into jam. I mean FANTASTIC!!! It is my favorite jam and what I will probably associate with summer. I don't mind the picking and I look forward to creating sour cherry jam; although, I must admit that it's a pain in the behind to pit the cherries. I've been promising to post about my jamming session, and I think I'll post about sour cherry jam.