August Dinner

We spent another great evening last night with family and friends.
And since it's late August, and tomato time, our entree was Tomato Cobbler.

I've made this dish before and it's always a big hit.  If you have lots of tomatoes as we do, then don't hesitate to try this.

Here's the recipe:  (click to enlarge)

Note:  Cherry tomatoes are not a requirement;  just chop up whatever tomatoes you have on hand.  Remember, this is a "cobbler", you wouldn't put cherry sized peaches in a peach cobbler.


Keeping to a late summer theme I also made this apple salad.

Dessert was super easy;  this frozen lime terrine is much easier than it looks and makes a good impression.  Be sure to unmold it before your guests arrive, sometimes it takes a bit and you'll be standing around waiting on it to defrost enough to come out of the pan. Unmold it onto a plate and put it back in the freezer until you're ready for it.

The recipe calls for blackberries but the store was out so I substituted raspberries instead.  No problem.

What have you been making with your tomato crop?

The Dregs of August

We didn't plant many August blooming flowers.  Thus our garden is a bit boring during this month.
But there is still a bit of action.



There is also some inaction as Scarface enjoys some sunshine.

And I entertain myself feeding the koi:



That's about it.  Hope your garden is more exciting.  Or at least your summer is.

Random Summer Stuff

While doing some cat sitting for a friend, I heard rustling in her shrubs and turned to see this.
Can you see that little thing on the sidewalk?

I should have used the video on my camera.  These little guys were way too fast for me.

Here is the parent quail, being very brave.

This little birdhouse was adorable during the past few years in our garden;
seen here during the fall after a trace amount of snow.

But during the week Kim was gone to Montana the wasps did this:

Yeah, it's something, isn't it?
Wasp information.
There's a lot of wasp spit on that birdhouse, that's for sure.
This will get dismantled during their winter hibernation, that's for sure.

Kim planted tomatoes in the cold frame this year.  They're doing well.  He had to remove the roof.

And some random pictures of our garden.

And just look at my son and his family.  Casey is doing really well post surgery.

Summertime

It's been a good summer.

We grew tomatoes.

We visited Montana where we plan on retiring in a few years.

And the biggest event of the summer...............our granddaughter Hayden!

Six and one half pounds of cutie!

Bees and Wasps

 Hopefully we all have honey bees in our gardens and we also recognize their importance.

You may also notice wasps in your garden and have even tried to trap or eliminate them.
But did you know that "Wasps are so adept at controlling pest populations that the agriculture industry now regularly deploys them to protect crops."  From National Geographic.


I've often wondered why wasps ever visit flowers.  According to this Colorado University website, "Male wasps occasionally visit flowers to feed on nectar, however, social wasps are generally not important plant pollinators.
All social wasps are capable of producing a painful sting but none leave the stinger embedded, as do honey bee workers. Most stings occur when the colony is accidentally disturbed."

In our garden we attempt to keep peace with the wasps and avoid them to allow them to do their work.

This one was especially interested in this peony bloom.

Honey bee on a wisteria bloom.

Another bee on a poppy.

And finally this one enjoying a bluet flower.