Monthly Nine - July

It is actually past time to sit and think and review July and share with the other bloggers in this group.  Be sure to check out the others at Greenhaven where Linda is hosting our little group.  I love reading what others in another part of the word are doing and seeing a little of their lives.  There are trips I may never take but the blogging world makes true the old saying about reading taking you on adventures, and I have seen how others live differently and how they live the same.  It is a lot of fun!

Onward and upward - it is summer here in Idaho and we are all about the garden so forgive my one dimensional life this month!

Nourish - There is a flavor that screams SUMMER to me and it is the BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato on toast)
sandwich.  It is only made better when the lettuce and tomato are fresh from the garden, and the toast is homemade.  Hubby has tomatoes everywhere - they have of course ripened a ton of them at the same time!  He is feverishly making his salsa and then I will get to can whatever tomatoes are left!  (looks like I will have plenty!)  If anyone is curious about different types - he tried an "Amish Roma" (heirloom) this year and they are really large and tasty!




Prepare - This category is all about the canning this month as that is our major activity in the late summer as

Peaches, Salsa and Sweet Pickles

we harvest garden, so far we have done dill pickles, sweet pickles, yellow squash pickles, sauerkraut, salsa and peaches!












Reduce - I have reduced the population of squash bugs in the world!  Alright it's kind of a stretch but I did

mention in a recent post that I had not yet had any this year and - pow ! - there they were!  I saw two of them one day and the next day the whole batch were history.  I just didn't want to risk the cucumbers and cantaloupes.  See that beautiful plant - it doesn't look like it's harboring evil but there it is!








Green - We have managed to avoid any store bought chemicals and/or pesticides on the garden  and

the weeding has kept things under control so far.  We did use the chicken wire to keep the birds off the strawberries, that is green isn't it!!  :)  It is a good feeling to know that the food we eat is grown in plain old dirt and compost!









Grow - The beans are starting to look like they maybe ready to move beyond flowers.  The winds recently

have really played havoc with my pole beans!  I have been keeping better track of yields and dates of planting and harvesting this season so I can be better prepared next year.









Create - In keeping with the all garden all the time theme this month I will share that I have created some monumental messes in the kitchen!!

Discover - We have rediscovered the Farmers Market here locally.  it is just the best place to get local honey and some of the things we don't grow. 

hollyhocks!

Enhance - I have very much enjoyed the flowers that we worked on adding to the yard this summer.  They really have enhanced our enjoyment of the outdoors!














Enjoy - I am enjoying the anticipation of my mother coming to visit in August!  She has been taking care of her mother for the last 3 years and has not been able to come and see where we live and visit us here.  I am so excited to have her come here as it has now been almost a year since I have seen her again and that is just too long!!  I am just like a little kid with the excitement!  She looks too young to have a kid my age doesn't she!!!

Don't forget to check out the other blogs this month and have a wonderful August, whether you are winding down the harvest season or gearing up for spring!!