This summer, the gardens have been so beautiful surrounding our home. Each week seems to bring out more color than the weeks before, offering us so much beauty to enjoy. This Dahlia was a splurge for me

I have a small pond next to the back porch. Every spring, a few frogs show up to reside in the pond for the summer months. Usually, there are half a dozen, but this year only one female, one male, and

It's hard to believe we are halfway through the month of August. The vegetables have been coming in hard and fast every single day. Keeping up with processing has become my main job each day. I've never

The first slicing tomato finally ripened enough to make BLTs for lunch. My hubby loves a good tomato sandwich and had been eying them in the garden, anticipating the first one for the season. I have to

There is something extra-special about homemade, right? I love peaches and salsa, too. Now that I found a great recipe in the New Canning Book by Ball for "Summer Corn & Peach Salsa", that

Rarely do we get to enjoy a fabulous steak that was grass-fed and grass-finished. When my niece flies in for a visit from Sioux Falls, SD, she always brings me 6 large ribeye steaks to put into the freezer.

The vegetables are coming on hard and fast, and it has been a bit stressful keeping up with it all. Just trying to decide what to do with each of them can be a challenge. I grew extra cucumber plants this

I have been anticipating this day. All five Monarch caterpillars formed a J-Formation on the same day and then went into their chrysalis stage. You can always tell when that special day arrives when you

I took a break from canning and decided to bake instead. I just can't seem to stay out of the kitchen. I had two bags of dried blueberries that had been hanging out in the pantry. It was time to make some

This is my resident male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird that has been coming for two years now. He is very territorial of the feeder and even chases his mate away, which is surprising to me. Here are a few

Yup, in the heat of summer I was craving stuffing. I had two thick-cut pork chops in the freezer that needed cooking. Besides, I had a loaf of bread that I had cubed and dried just waiting for the special

I can hardly believe that it is August already. It seems such a short time ago that I was starting to plant out the vegetables. Well, here I am now in full swing, harvesting and preserving the bounty.

Every year I eagerly await the arrival of the beautiful Monarch butterflies. I have a nice-sized patch of Milkweed that I let grow just for them. Once I see them visiting the milkweed, I start to gather

The raspberries are producing tons of berries. I've already made jam, so now I'm putting the rest up into raspberry syrup for pancakes and French toast. Hubby likes the flavor, so it is a great way to

My goodness, the flowers have grown so tall with huge blossoms, with all the rain and summer heat this year. They certainly have made my gardens look amazing, and I have so many creatures enjoying all

I have seen two Monarchs so far this month, and the female has started laying eggs on the patch of Milkweed at the edge of my yard. I went out as soon as I spotted her depositing eggs and gathered 5 that

The squash is coming in faster than I can use it. Thus, this week we had a heavy rainstorm, so I picked what I could ahead of it. Then I had to figure out what to do with it all. I shredded a lot of the

The weather is so hot that even the water in the birdbaths gets too warm. Now, I'm changing it daily, and the birds are much happier with the cooler water. Splish splash, they love taking baths in the

I have eaten so many spring mix salads for lunch that I had to find something different. I came across this salad recipe and had to give it a try. Mediterranean Bean Salad 1 can of black beans, rinsed

Three of the Chinese cabbages had to be harvested before the triggers devoured any more of the leaves. I had to remove a lot of them due to damage before I could wash them all. The only reason I grow this