The garden’s a shambles. The lettuce, beans, corn and cucumbers have been harvested, the cucumbers have been pickled and canned, and the strawberries and blueberries are in the freezer. Thanks to my friend Ann, there’s also enough blackberries and shredded zucchini in there to make blackberry cobbler and maple zucchini bread until spring. The second crop of spinach will be ready in a few weeks and I’m leaving all the carrots in the ground until the cold weather sweetens them up.
I had a story to write in Los Angeles, so with a break in chores, I packed my bag and headed for Malibu and my favorite cove.
The cliffs high above Malibu
The cove is on that isolated stretch of PCH that winds along the coast north of LA.
High tide at the cove.
At dusk, I pulled off PCH to watch the parasail surfers—and into the only restaurant on the planet that can still tempt me with fried food. Neptune’s clams are purely amazing.
hot clams
The crickets began to warm up their voices precisely on August 1st. Over the next two weeks, they gradually added one voice after another until they reached full choir at mid-August. Now, even though the nighttime temperatures are cool, we can’t bear to shut the windows. Instead, we push the bed underneath the windows, pull up a comforter, and lie watching the stars as we listen to each night’s performance and drift off to sleep. We are so blessed…
Even though the sun hasn’t yet appeared over the mountain or through the forest, these buttery daisies on the porch are full of sunlight. A sweet way to greet the morning…
Hm-m-m-m…the gift of hot summer days. The lavender garden is full of lavender and bees. Working carefully in a pair of worn leather gloves, I slowly reach into the early morning garden and begin to clip the amazing spikes of purple and their foliage. All around are tiny flashes of light reflecting off the wings of honeybees at work. As each plant is touched, the scent of lavender rises to envelope us. What a joyful blessing to be here…
Posted in Blessed, Cottage Garden, Summer, Vermont
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Tagged blessed, blessing, flowers, lavender, mountains, serenity, summer, Vermont
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Today’s blessing: My neighbor from just up the road stopped by. She was out just after sun-up for a morning snack. Looks a little bit pregnant, doesn’t she? Double-click on her photo and see her close up. For those of you who are flatlanders: This is what a real moose looks like!
Lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, butternut squash, zucchini squash, bush beans, heirloom tomatoes—the kitchen garden is overflowing with an abundance of all things green and wonderful.
Last year a high wind smashed a few nearly-ripe tomatoes into the soil. The tiny tomato vine hiding behind the romaine must be one of their progeny. I hate to pull it but…
