I haven't posted in quite a while now. As I'm sure most of you know, the weather this season has been... interesting (to say the least).
Here in the Midwest, we have experienced quite a drought. I tried to keep up on the gardens as best I could, but with life coming at me from all angles, I just couldn't get to everything in a timely manner. Some stuff has lived. Some stuff has died (boo).
We did have a lovely storm earlier in the month which brought lots of rain and also destroyed my neighborhood! Take the good with the bad I suppose. Ha! Check it out:
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| Taken after my daughter informed me a tree had fallen in our yard. |
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| 50 foot Maple tree down. |
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| My neighbors deck. |
It was actually pretty scary. My daughter and I quickly moved downstairs, and she laid her head on my chest and said "Mom, your heart is beating really fast! Are we ok?" Poor girl.
Afterwards I read that we had winds over 90 MPH, which is stronger than most tornadoes? I had looked at the weather forecast, and it only said rain, so of course I was ok with that. It came over us so fast! The wind picked the furniture up off my deck and swept everything down the length of it (which is 40ft.). Strangely, most of my potted plants stayed right where they were, although, my Zinnia's and herb gardens were totally windblown and since have died.
We were out of power for a few days, and since I have septic/well water, we had no use of the facilities or running water, so we left until it was restored. Leaving town felt like driving through a movie. Power was out through my town, and the ones surrounding me. Trees were down everywhere! Everyone was outside cleaning debris and checking to make sure nobody was hurt. I keep saying it felt like driving through a post apocalyptic city. Very strange...
Now that things are getting back to normal, I figured I would post some pictures, because lots of stuff is actually kicking serious butt right now! I'm very proud. Enjoy:
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| My Hindu Rope hoya that I'm in love with! This picture is sort of older, and it's surprisingly grown quite a bit. |
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| Comfrey is doing really well! Again, this is an older picture (older as in like 3 weeks). It's growing like crazy right now, and the stupid beetles really dig it. |
ON TO THE INCREDIBLE EDIBLES!!!
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| I have harvested some of the garden beans already, and they are fan-freakin'-tastic! |
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| Of course the mint survived. It's doubled in size since I took this picture last week. |
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| Garden Peach tomatoes - delish' |
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| I have about 4 pumpkins, and this is the largest of them. |
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| YAY! |
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| As you can see, the Japanese Beetles really love my edemame. |
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| Another heirloom bean picture. They really are gorgeous. Unfortunately, when blanched, they lose their color. |
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| C'mon... OKRA! Still waiting on bloom, but they're doing well. |
So there you have it - nearing end of July and things look pretty good, as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for all the advise and words of encouragement this season. It's been tough, but I'm still standing (per usual). Ya'll know Kelly can't be faded!
