Very Long Time Away--Garden Produce

I keep starting post and then I get distracted!!!

In fact this one was started several weeks ago (originally saved on July 19th) after I was inspired by the amount of produce we are managing to get from the various planters we are using in our non-existent garden.
Our back garden really is a yard as some of you may remember from those long ago Fun Monday posts when we put our homes and gardens on show.

We had another good crop of Loganberries from just one vine and I made around fifteen pots of jam. Now this might not seem like many to most of you; but much as I love it I don't want to eat too much jam, so Beccy took a few pots back to Dublin and I am saving some for Sam when I visit San Francisco in October.

All the potatoes are grown in a bag or plastic pots and if you haven't tasted new potatoes freshly dug and cooked then topped with a little butter and parsley you have missed a treat!

We have been eating runner and french beans for the last couple of weeks it's wonderful to have such fresh veg.

After a poor start (due to weather) we had a good crop of rhubarb and one of the things I used it for was Rhubarb Crumble Muffins. I found the recipe in one of the Sunday Mags and although I say it myself they were delicious.

After last year's disaster we used a plastic frame to cover the tomatoes and Embee created a watering system which seems to have worked perfectly. The first ones we picked were eaten by my grandson.

Below I am picking them quicker than we can eat them!

This is the first year we have grown beet; only one row but I have already given quite a few away ad Embee likes them hot as well with salads. I've still got to cook and bottle some for the winter.

Last year we produced enough onions to use throughout the winter. This year I asked for some red ones as well as white and they are currently drying out-well I have used a couple already!

The first carrots we picked were very poor standard they had been eaten by carrot fly (or some bug-you can tell I'm no gardener). However these later ones are a good size and no sign of being eaten. I love raw carrots.

Cabbage is another veg we are trying this year and I'm using one of these for dinner this evening. I can hear both my girls groaning they do not like beans,beets or cabbage. If they get to read this I'm sure there will be comments about boiled cabbage!

Not sure why but I didn't take any pictures of my Blueberry bushes (I have 4) and they also produced a good crop- have been having some on my muesli every morning for breakfast for past couple of months. They are coming to an end so must make the most of the ones currently ripening.

Hope you enjoyed this little trip around veggie plots.

Caught in the act

Yesterday as I arrived home from a trip to the dentist with my mother (she now has teeth that actually fit so she has no excuse for not wearing them!) I got out of the car and immediately noticed Tog nibbling away at the overhanging sprouting plants.

Naturally as a dedicated blogger I whipped out my camera, thinking the perfect shot for a short Saturday post.Oh and in case you think she's very clever, the holey pattern in the leaf is the artwork of the Cabbage White caterpillars!
Have a great weekend. Embee is out for the day and I've agreed to take my friend to the cash and carry I must be mad on a Saturday when it will be busy.

Archives:
2008: Slives Portugal-3
2007: Witty Wednesday-12

What's growing in my garden!

I'm sure everyone will recognise these flowers but in case you don't............these are now growing well.
...Wonder how long it will take before they are ready to harvest!

Archives:
2008: Fun Monday-71 My Walls
2007: What kind of wine are you

Friday the 13th

This post was not really intended to be about the day or the date although I do wonder if any of my readers are superstitious! Here are a few common ones that I might just admit to saying or thinking:

*Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day
* A rabbit's foot brings good luck
* An apple a day keeps the doctor away
* To find a four-leaf clover is to find good luck
* If you walk under a ladder, you will have bad luck
* If a black cat crosses your path you will have bad luck
* To break a mirror will bring you seven years bad luck
* To open an umbrella in the house is to bring bad luck
* To find a horseshoe brings good luck
* Step on a crack, break your mother's back
* You can break a bad luck spell by turning seven times in a clockwise circle
* Garlic protects from evil spirits and vampires
* Our fate is written in the star
*If you blow out all of the candles on your birthday cake with the first breath you will get whatever you wish for
*A lock of hair from a baby's first haircut should be kept for good luck
*An itchy palm means money will come your way
* A beginner will always have good luck: beginner's luck
* A cat has nine lives
* Eating fish makes you smart
*Crossing your fingers helps to avoid bad luck and helps a wish come true
* If you shiver, someone is casting a shadow on your grave
*To make a happy marriage, the bride must wear: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
*Warm hands, cold heart
* Cold hands, warm heart
* To give someone a purse or wallet without money in it will bring that person bad luck
* A forked branch, held with a fork in each hand, will dip and point when it passes over water

Now to what I really intended to share with you:

My brother brought me a bag of parsnips and potatoes last week, and as far as I'm concerned free food is always gratefully received. This was one of the larger parsnips that I used yesterday.
As I was washing off all the earth I was struck by the images that came into my mind. I can clearly see a Giraffe complete with tail!
It also reminded me of a character in a film and I wonder if anyone else sees it the same way??

If no one guesses I'll add a P.S. in a couple of days.

Today Beccy, Joules and the grandchildren are off to London for a long weekend so I hope they have a lovely time. Embee and I were invited and now I'm regretting declining, as I would love to see them!

POSTSCRIPT:
I think the parsnip was a model for Davy Jones

Archives:
2008: Today is + Tortoise Update