Sunday, April 29, 2012

Garden faves


Received this cute kitty planter for Christmas....


















I'm excited about my little hydrangea bed...they really like their home....have 2 "rebloomers" (Twist and Shout and Blushing Bride) and one of the typical pink hydrangea plants; also have a fourth plant, which I purchased at the spring plant sale last year in Nacogdoches last year.  It had light greenish-white blooms last year; will see what happens this year.


















Saturday, April 28, 2012

Garden....April 25, 2012

On one of the blogs that I follow (See here), Sheryl takes pictures of her garden once a month....a great way to compare progress and give self a little pat on the back.   I started with our vegetable garden...just a few random but specific shots...

Watermelon Vine

Tomatoes (look closely!)




















Yellow Squash


Elephant Garlic














Zucchini
Malabar Spinach




















We found this warm weather spinach at The Natural Gardener in Austin.   Check them out here  This is probably my most favorite nursery...to buy and to enjoy the views and landscaping!  Plenty of swings and benches to soak up the sights and rest your feet.  If you have a chance to visit, check out their AWESOME artichoke plant!   Wish I had taken my camera...the phone camera just didn't do any justice....





Some more jammin'

After our 2nd strawberry picking outing, we made more jam....we are no experts in this jam-making business, but we have learned a few things along the way!








If using pectin, use the makers recipe...it doesn't work to use your favorite recipe and just dump in a little box of pectin!   If not using pectin, expect to get less of the end product because the jam reduces with prolonged cooking.  

A full cook-top!















 Either way, the finished product is fabulous!    If too thin, just pour on angel food cake, pound cake or ice cream!   No wasting here!











 Kitchen CLOSED!












Sunday, April 8, 2012

Strawberries and Bunnies

The Berry Patch in Fairfield...awesome and bountiful berries...the fruits of my labor!









Next up...strawberry jam!   No pics yet, but 2# of strawberries, 4 cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of lemon juice yields just a tad over 2 pints of fabulous jam....I see a return trip for more berries in the near future! 

 Cute bunny, compliments of Kendra....she's turning "Martha" on us!


Finally....




water to float our boat! 








All smiles from the captain! 


 

Buzzed.......



 Could it be this...

  or this....




or this???







Whatever the lure...I got buzzed twice this afternoon....Harvey witnessed it...our hummers (or at least one) are back!  Hope to get some pics soon!

Happy Easter!