kismet art

April in Photos (even though we are a third of the way through May...)

Asparagus soup (because I just can't get enough of asparagus this time of year) A field of grape hyacinths in our neighborhood (I have only been meaning to get a photo of this brief bloom for 14 years)Finches in our Gravenstein apple tree:White Bleeding Heart at Hendricks Park:The way I'm trying to be:The way they are trying to be ;) All we need is:A blurry turkey who was trying to find a girlfriend (he is out of focus because it was raining so hard that my camera would only focus on the rain.)Big ol' jet airliner:My neighbors lilacs (every year he invites me over to pick a basketful)Molcajete at Los Dos Amigos(even better as leftovers the next day) and a much needed night out with friends:Painted Lady butterfly that our preschool class raised and released:

Lovely night sky:

Tomato Harvest

When one decides to plant 21 tomatoes at the start of summer do they ever really think about what that means in September?  I have spent this past week giving away pounds and pounds of tomatoes as well as thinking of new ways to use and preserve them (and quite frankly, I never get tired of eating them freshly picked and sun-warmed from the garden.)

So now my newly defrosted freezer is home to oven-roasted romas -to make, slice romas in half, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, bake at 250 for 4 hours or until they look like these, cool, and place in freezer bags or containers:I also made my share of salsa, froze diced tomatoes, and even some fresh tomato sauce.  I made this baked vegetable casserole: Consumed a lot of this salad (I just never tire of tomatoes, cheese (feta or chevre), basil and olive oil): One tomato weighed in at 2.5 pounds: And I even found a tomato heart:Tomatoes, oh how I will miss you this winter when your cold, hard, taste-free cousins tempt me at the grocery store.  But I am hoping that the work I put in this week preserving some of your sun-kissed perfection will pay off during the long, cold stretch until we meet again next summer.

Summertime Blues

Sweet peas, hydrangeas, and lavender from the garden, my favorite kind of summertime blues.

Things I Love: The Garden Edition

Love this time of year when the strawberries can be found everywhere (especially my own backyard) and that they are red all the way through, so juicy, this is the one fruit I dream of all winter long. Fresh Italian parsley and cilantro on the patio, always ready as garnish and color for summer pasta or a quick salad, Ben and Emma were eating it straight from the planters over the weekend. Basil, or as it is known around here "that pesto plant", yep my daughter only wants pesto on her pasta and I successfully froze batches last summer to use during the months where a little taste of summer gets you through the rain and gloom- working on doubling the amount this time around. Windchimes: this is my first bamboo chime, a gift from Ben for Mother's Day, it is right outside our bedroom and I love the soft, soothing sound it makes when a summertime breeze is blowing. Bird feeders- we have a few, I hung this one outside our room this spring and the sometimes the birds come in so close we can almost touch them- love that the juvenile chickadees that recently left the nest are coming in several times a day to snack on black-oil sunflower seeds.Lavender and bees- there was just enough heat this past week to allow the lavender to begin blooming and the bees are loving it almost as much as I am.  One of my favorite things is to dry all the varieties of this lovely purple flower and have it in each room during the winter to bring a little scent of summer indoors.
These two chairs, my parents gave these to us (they wanted something smaller for their porch) and we have spent many an hour drinking coffee or lemonade, reading, or just hanging out in them.  They may get a bright blue or sage green make-over this fall.
Lanterns and lights,I have owned these for over a year and we (ok, Dave) took some time a couple of weeks ago to hang them outside our bedroom above the deck.  And yes, we have sat under them the few evenings that were warm and dry (come back sunshine, you are missed.)  Their soft glow gives us just enough light that we can both see where we are going and enjoy the stars as well.

Our yard has evolved so much in the twelve years that we have lived here and I am finally following through this year on my resolution to spend time enjoying the very yard that I have put so many hours of sweat and tears into.  And I am loving every minute of it.

Planting

{sweet pea shoots}

Planning on spending this Earth Day planting in the garden (spent most of yesterday afternoon weeding), bring on the sunshine. 

Spring Planting (or how I was tricked by Mother Nature)

Spring was almost officially here the day I pulled out my seed packets, weeded the beds, and spent the afternoon planting in the sunshine.
I even had tomato plants sprouting indoors, my earliest start on my garden ever... Then Mother Nature decided to dump several inches of rain.And after the rain we received over 6 inches of snow yesterday waiting for the thaw before I figure out what made it.  Thinking that the lettuce, carrots, and radishes are going to need a do-over.

Monday Pumpkin Science Minute, week 4

I believe this weeks look at the pumpkins can be summed up by the words of a very wise 4 year old girl:

"This is gross."

Until next week.

Monday Pumpkin Science Minute, week 2

A little mold, a little sinkage, a little nibble here and there, why, it must be time for this weeks installment of Monday Pumpkin Science Minute.  Yes, it is nothing if not exciting around the ol' Ackerman household this fall, for a view of last weeks pumpkin photo click here.

And until next Monday, try not to have more excitement than us, it just makes us feel bad...

Green Thumb

Despite the fact that the garden beds are empty and the flowers long gone my little green-thumbed helper is hard at work, rain or shine, at keeping her garden going.

The Not So Itsy-Bitsy Spider

Every night before bed Emma has me singing 3 versions of the "Itsy-Bitsy" spider song that she has been singing at her preschool.  The first version is the regular, itsy version.  Next we sing about the "medium" spider.  And we finish our song fest with the "Big" spider.

I think the spider in this web that was on my rose bush is the spider from the third version of the song.

And I almost walked right through it's web today.

And if I had I think I would have been singing something of the four-letter variety.