Summer Fun!

Yesterday was the summer solstice. I celebrated the day by spending it in Seattle with future farmer Ari and her pal, Toni. We started out at Pike Place Market at the Crumpet Shop. I went for one with green eggs and ham, while Ari preferred hers with lemon curd. Next, it was a hop across the street to Starbuck for some fuel for the day.

We met Toni at SAM's (Seattle Art Museum) hammering man sculpture. The featured exhibit was modern minimalism. Lots of the art work was labeled as untitled. So, we had great fun giving them all names. My personal favorite was Horde of Angry Bumble Bees for a canvas of yellow splotches and black zig-zags.

After SAM, it was time for lunch. We walked south along 1st Ave to Pioneer Square and finally arrived at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant. It's a really cool old place where lots of the jazz greats have played (including one of my favs, Ray Charles) and new artists abound. While waiting for our order, I pulled out a pad of origami paper and we tried our hands at folding a frog, butterfly, and bird. Toni was the only one to get hers done before the meal arrived. Toni and I both indulged in jambalaya; while Ari ordered up the Catfish and hushpuppies. All came with warm and tasty cornbread. It was Southern delish!

Then we headed back north to Pike Place. The girls had serious Manga to check out; while I had groceries to collect at the Spice shop, Italian deli, Parisian bakery, and Chinese bun stand. By the time we were done, we were tired, in need of another coffee, and ready to face Friday rush hour.

I spend the evening of Solstice in my garden contemplating the upcoming full moon. The garden was alive with sounds of birds and bees and the fresh smell of all the flowers we've interspersed between the fruits and veggies.

Today, was our Saturday farmers' market in Redmond. We've been going there for years. Today, we picked up a cucumber, cilantro, tomatoes, green onion, cherries, lettuce, peapods, and shallots. Every week the market has a different theme. Today was mustache day. Here's mine:

Hmm, I think I look a bit like Hercule Poirot.

I spent the rest of our beautiful sunny day in the garden: watering, harvesting, weeding, etc. Here's today's bounty:

lemon balm, chard and kale greens, basil, our first Marionberry and blueberries, a few remaining black currants, chamomile floweres, chives, parsley, strawberries, oregano, calundula floweres, borage flowers, raspberries, lemon oregano, and nasturium flowers.

I used the parsley and chives in a big patch of cheddar chive scones for our picnic tomorrow. The flowers, some of the berries, and herbs went into my lunch salad, delish!

Hope your summer solstice was a lovely one.

The adventures continue

A photo for my mom; lupin in bloom, amongst the daisies.

The berries currently ripening in our berry patch; end of season, tiny juicy strawberries, midseason raspberries, and early giant Chandler blueberries.

On Friday and Saturday evening, we joined our friend Lisa at the Marymoor velodrome for the FSA bike racing. The weather was beautiful and the company good. We even had front row seats for the nesting ospreys. There was a family of four nesting up on the pole.

Anni cracking herself up by wearing dad's backup (and extremely ugly) glasses. Anni started her second cooking camp today. This week, she's making pasta and pastries. It was homemade egg fettuccine with marinara sauce and mini zucchini cheese breads today. Both were delicious! There was much excitement at the camp when we were all evacuated for an hour due to a fire at the Round Table Pizza next door. Four fire engines responded along with paramedics and multiple police units. The kids went for a fruit picking walk down Gilman Blvd while the smoke billowed. It's not everyday that the building cooks!

Suburban Adventures #2

Guess where we went on Wednesday?
"Woof, woofy, wooooo!" Translation: I'm a happy, happy dog!"

" There's just gotta be a ball out here somewhere."
A thistle in bloom.
These kids aren't Dutch.
Lots of trees and grass.

Did you guess? Marymoor Park and SODA dog park. A great time was had by all, especially the now worn out canine.

The CSA farm box also arrived on Wednesday, full of organic goodness. This one had peas, mushrooms, avocados, tomatoes, carrots, jalapeno peppers, red onion, corn, green onions, bananas, oranges, nectarines, grapes, pluots, plums, limes, and cherries. Yum!

Excellent Suburban Summer Adventures Part 1

This week, we are embarking on excellent summer adventures. Guess where we went on Monday ???

Alex is thinking, "This is so not the Tardis! It's not even blue. Mom, let us out!"

Are we in an enchanted garden?

Exotic flowers abound.

A few fit for faeries.

Complete with faerie trees.

And picture perfect blooming roses.

With flowers full of passion.

Great blue heron set to fish.

Volumes of water cascading.

Spiralling sculptures.

A bridge half drawn.

David sure is excited to be here. (Or does he have a bee in his pants?)

Okay, so did you guess?

Here's the answer:

The Ballard Locks! We saw several ships pass through the locks, including the Seattle Police Boat. The Chinook (king) salmon and Steelhead were both running through the fish ladder in droves. So much so that we had to go out for fish and chips after our visit to the locks and gardens. It was a beautiful day and a good time was had by all.

Fun on the Funny Farm!

The flower bed is planted for our pollinators.

We loved this bright floral.

Here's our bean tee pee. Also in this bed we now have nasturtium flowers and winter squash.

Here's a potful of radish starts, planted with a marigold to control nematodes. Also in pots, we have lettuce, cilantro, basil, mint, and potatoes.

Our peas are starting to grow up their frame. They are coplanted with pansies. This week we did lots of planting. Our potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese Cabbage, onions, carrots, and herbs are all planted. We also compost enhanced our existing plants, lots of herbs and all the berry bushes. We're waiting a bit longer to plant basil and pepper plants.

The CSA farm box was a terrific one. We had to take the photo in thirds. This week we received organic broccoli, green onions, leek, avocado, carrots, lettuce, and artichokes for the veggies.

For fruit, we received organic apples, mango, oranges, bananas, and strawberries.

We also had mushrooms, Italian sausage, ground pork, and ground beef. We're not huge meat eaters, but when we do we like the pasture fed, no antibiotic meat offered through the farm cooperative.

The family has been doing a great job this week eating from the garden, farm box, and farmer's market. In the garden, we are currently harvesting lettuce, chives, basil, sage, thyme, cilantro, and green onions

Today for dinner, we had an Italian country menu featuring steamed artichokes (farm box) with a jalapeno (last time's farm box) aioli sauce (eggs from our chickens), brushetta, and an organic whole wheat spaghetti tossed with Italian herbs and black olives. Dessert featured the last of the rhubarb (farmer's market) crumble with a fan of strawberries (farm box).

Today was farmer's market day. We found leeks, rhubarb, asparagus, hazelnuts, tuna, handmade soaps, another tomato plant, two orange mint plants, and a custom made silver leaf necklace. We try to support our local artisans at the market as well as the growers.

Our weather has finally make it into the 70's. The giant bumble bees are buzzing about.

And the irises finally bloomed!

The world in purple

The irises are waiting to open.

The morning glory has awoken.

Bluebells are ringing.

And whatever these are they are plentiful.

The lavender smells lovely.

And the wisteria is creeping skyward.

Ahh, we love purple spring flowers!