Blooming!

 

I got my first tomato today.  It wasn't much to look at, since slugs ate at the bottom of it, but after cutting that part off, it was delicious!  Mostly, right now I have flowers blooming.

I think this hydrangea was blue when I planted it.  Apparently, the soil is on the acidic side, at least here.

And Midnight was trailing me through the gardens and yard, demanding attention.  She was not happy that I was gone for two days, and she needed many pets and belly rubs.  It's obvious why Lydia and I sometimes call her M'Lady d'Midnight.

I'm sure you remember my last pictures of the Mexican sunflowers.  This was this morning.  This is only one plant.  They just keep branching and blooming.  I love this plant.  Here is the view from the top:

It was a bit rainy this morning, but last night, it was covered in butterflies.

I do have some vegetables growing that the deer haven't ate.  Yet.  Above are pumpkins (which deer like and may chomp at any time), and below is a cabbage, which deer tend to leave alone.

I also have some zinnias (a few were chomped).

I have marigolds blooming well, too, but I must have not gotten a good picture of them.  The peppermint balsam is just starting to bloom, and it looks good, too.  

Gardening

 My garden has been slow this year, and I didn't plant as much as I originally wanted.  Still, I have quite a few green tomatoes now.  These are the closest to getting ripe:

There are also several peppers getting there.

And I'm going to have to find a better place for Mary.  The flowers are pretty, but they are taller than her, and blocking her.  I haven't decided where to place her yet.  

Garden Updates and the Ultimate Survivors

My Mexican Sunflowers have started blooming!

I have not done very well with the garden this year.  My tomato plants do look great, but I have few actual tomatoes growing.  I'm hopeful that I will have a good, albeit late, crop.  Here you can see the Mexican sunflowers next to some tomatoes:

I have several more Mexican sunflowers in the front cottage garden, and the deer must not love them, because they are growing very well, undisturbed.  The deer have munched some of my other plants, as usual, but I've planted more herbs out front because they don't seem to like any of those.  

In sadder news, a raccoon wreaked havoc on our coop and killed all but two of our chickens.  Only the two Wyandotte hens are still with us, so they are the ultimate survivors.  Nathaniel had to completely rebuild the coop door, and we are finally at the point where it seems they are safe.  Our tiny flock will increase when we add more chicks, but that will take time.  We have to buy chicks and keep them in the brooder for several weeks before they can join the Wyandottes.

 

More from Turin

Nathaniel recently uploaded his pictures from Turin to my computer, so here are a few.  It appears he took a lot of pictures of me in restaurants.  In this first one, we are drinking bicerin in our favorite chocolate shop.  Bicerin is a local specialty, with chocolate on bottom, a shot of espresso in the middle, and cream on top.  I'm not a coffee person, but I did drink a couple of bicerins on this trip.  (I still don't like coffee.)

That, in my mug, is chocolate.  Liquid chocolate.  It was divine.

Apparently, when we travel, Nathaniel always finds giant balls for a photos.

This was in a cute little Ukranian restaurant that had the best dumplings!

 

June Harvest Totals and post-VBS

 June Harvest Totals:

Eggs - 135

Garlic scapes - 3

Pea pods - 1/2 c

Tatsoi - 2c

Obviously, this was not the kind of harvest I was looking for!  Deer and severe heat were both issues, and eggs are lagging because a raccoon took out 4 layers and our beloved Rooster Sam.  It's not been fun.  We have re-secured the coop, but we now only have 6 hens.  I was looking to raise meat birds and a few regular chicks, but we will have to increase the number of layers, so more chicks will be forthcoming.  

Last week was Vacation Bible School week, so Lydia, Gyunay, Emry, and I helped out every morning.  Here is Emry getting ready for a skit with the rest of the cast.  He was so excited that he got to be Saint Juan Diego, one of his favorite saints.

On Friday, we had an epic swim birthday party for Gyunay.  His birthday is actually this week, but we celebrated early by renting out the aquatic center and inviting the homeschool group and our family.  He had so much fun.  The weather was great for it, and it was really nice.  It was so nice, the homeschool moms are considering pooling money to rent it again next year. 

On Sunday, five of the kids and I headed to the Newport Aquarium, where we met up with my family to explore sea life.