Summer Favorite

Blackberry Crisp is a summer favorite of mine...
..made with berries I pick myself....

Thursday morning I went out early, with an

overcast sky...and a gentle breeze...my camera,
two plastic pails, and long sleeves...
to pick the blackberries near the field.

~

You need to move slowly, look over, above,
under, behind, around, beneath, between,
and still...you may miss berries...
and get snagged!!!

I managed to pick 2 quarts in an hour
with just a few minor confrontations
with the briers...

They ranged in size...but most were of
this nature.



I washed them twice and put them aside.




Again this morning I went out very early,
right after reading Bernie's Blog.
Blackberries will ripen overnight...
Dylan says they ripen as soon as you pick
and leave an area...he may be right!

Herhusband told me to watch out for snakes...
as I went out the door.
Guess what I found...

~
No...
not a snake...


just a Walking Stick bug...



He had fallen into the pail first thing...



then guess what hissed at me...

after I stepped on it....


~
No...
not a snake...


just a turtle buried under a tangle of vines.



I finished after an hour and went back to
the house...
and while Herhusband was washing the van...




I washed some blackberries again...




I ended up with 2 1/2 more quarts today...




which I used 4 cups of...for the crisp...
placing them in a deep pie pan....
sprinkled them with 1/2 cup of sugar
and 2 teas. of cornstarch...



then made a topping by cutting a stick of butter
into 3/4 cups of flour, 3/4 cups rolled oats,
1/2 cup br. sugar, 1/2 teas. cinnamon, and about
3 Tb. of chopped almond pieces...

then baked it at 400 * for about 30 minutes.

Left it to cool on the counter....

while I ate a salad for lunch....

and then afterwards...dished it up for dessert!

I took mine with me to finish reading the blogs

of all my friends and discovered an award from

Jientje and an award from Eileen.

Thank you both!

I will accept, show and pass them on later...

but now I am going to have my first taste

of the season of my "summer favorite"...

and it was delicious...

right down to the last bite!

Wish I could share it...with all of you!

Light.....Day and Night

Being nestled here in trees...does have it's drawbacks...

One being not enough sunlight for flowers at times...

.

making it necessary to use shade loving plants like

Hosta and Astilbe in the circle created by the drive...

.

I did manage to find a spot in the circle that receives
just enough light for this Morning Light Maiden Grass.



Our early morning sunlight first hits this spot...

up by the bridge, that leads to Alivia's house...

...at the beginning of the drive. .

The light slowly works it's way into the field

by the barn...

Then it progresses even slower down the

front side yard along the fence row and drive.

Finally the sunlight makes it's way to the gazebo

at the end of the flower garden...the only place

besides the field that gets enough sunlight

to grow flowers.

The side yard stays in shade almost all day...we

have a birdbath there for the birds...although

squirrels and deer use it too, even a fox one time.

Lily of the Valley, Bleeding Hearts, Fern,

and "Rocks" grow fairly well here!

The birdbath does reflect the sky light as

the sunlight makes it's way around back...

to the garden...where we removed several large

trees last year in order to grow squash like this...

in order to have blossoms like this...

in order to have light salads like this!

So with our numerous cloudy days lately and a

thunderstorm again last night...the flower garden

is less flamboyant than usual...I'm lucky to have
these Daisies...
.

and the Bee Balm...which does it part to attract...

bees to the Coneflowers...

and a few Butterflies...

of different types which light up the yard.

As the day ends, the last lights I see are some

of my favorite things...this one made by my

son in law Rick stays on all night.

as well as this owl that gives light to the night...

Another favorite thing that gives light to my days...
...Books...

...as well as...

Alivia...seen here at her Dance Recital!


That's just a few of the Lights I appreciate!

A Little Bit of Everything

We've had several days with rain and a few

hazy and foggy mornings...a little bit of everything...

.

so I 'm not surprised to find

tiny white mushrooms springing up in the dampness...
.



...but I was surprised to find this little guy on the

gazebo...


-all photos enlarge-
'


I think with the bright morning sun...he wanted down...




so I very gently tugged, pried him off the railing...
.
...placed him on a rock so he could find his way home.




Most mornings when I work outside...I go out

the back door...which is actually a side door...to

.

the back porch...which is actually a side porch...

.

I turn right and...

go down these narrow steps to the front yard...

then I turn left and go down these stone steps

which I made myself when younger...

I would not attempt it now!

After getting the tools from the shed yesterday...

I headed for the flower garden.

The flowerbeds needed my attention badly.

The Poppies have gone into their dormant stage...

and their yellowing plants had to be removed...

and some flowers just needed to be dead headed....

like these cheerful yellow Coreopsis.....

...the Speedwell was doing fine...no attention needed...

later...by the time I finished pruning and weeding...

I had a wheelbarrow full of "a little bit of everything"...

...something like the homemade soup

I had made the day before...
which we had for lunch after working outside...

After lunch.....
Herhusband returned to the field to cut the grass.

Our son Steve had brought his mower over yesterday...

and cut most of the yard...so I need to thank him...

Here I caught both of them mowing out front...

in the same area where the day before I caught...

this fawn approaching me...coming out of the woods....

I think I startled him...he leaped...

I thought he was running off...

but he paused a few feet away...

eating some greens....

while keeping an eye on me....

He grew less cautious.....

even comfortable...I think...

approaching me even closer.....

He stayed for quite awhile.....

...before leaping...and then running off!