Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy

Jeff's garden

The garden is producing lovely veggies at a very nice pace.  We have had just enough zucchini  for a few suppers and then to make my zucchini relish. I am grateful that we are not being overwhelmed with them.  I also made zucchini brownies which are always yummy.  Put up many green beans for the freezer.  I have a bowl of beets he pulled that I am trying to decide what to do with.  I may try pickling them.  I've never made pickled beets!  It would be an experiment.   We have moved on from raspberries to blueberries.  Yesterday I made my molasses and blueberry cake--a yummy recipe I got from a fellow spinner probably 15 years ago.  Mostly the blueberries get frozen for winter consumption. The lettuce is all done, so Jeff planted some more for the fall.  He put them where the two remaining eggplants were struggling.  I have no idea why they were so pathetic, but they were never growing and it was evident that they would never fruit.  So, goodbye to them and hello to lettuce.

Ladies who want breakfast in bed

In my little chicken world I had a funny thing happen this morning.  Jeff came in to say that two of the hens were still on the roost.  Everyone else had left at least three quarters of an hour before that.  Concerned, as there had been an episode of pre-dawn egg drop this morning, I went out to investigate.  Sure enough, two were sitting on the roost.  They didn't look ailing, so I held up a handful of grain to see if they would eat.  The ladies sidled over to each other and began to nibble out of my hand.  I held up another handful which they gobble right down.  By the third handful I began to see that, really,  what they  wanted was to have breakfast in bed!!! Well, I told them that they had to get up as it was a beautiful morning.
They did, but not until I heard Lil'Roxie giving someone an earful.  I don't think she was happy about something.  I found her ten minutes later in a nest box, looking grumpy.  Yes, chickens can look grumpy.  Hopefully she will lay me an egg and get on with the day.
Besides, I have a lot of spinning I want to do today. Don't want to be fussing with lazy chickens.  I'll bring the wheel outside to keep them company.  That will be fun!