We've Got A Lot Of Catching-Up To Do!

We're back!!!
It had been several years since my last trip to the ocean,
and I had almost forgotten how I love the shore.


There is just something about the rhythmic pounding of the waves,
and the call of the gull that soothes the soul.


I spent four days in the company of lovely women and just allowed my 
mind and soul to be quiet (when we weren't having a crazy good time!)
And while we are on the subject of crazy....
check out this horseshoe crab that washed up on the shore...


How about all those hitch-hiking shell-fish on it's torso!!
That's a crab with a whole lot of "bling!"

The wonderful thing about vacations is...
no matter how much fun they are...
it is always so good to return home to all that I love.

 this photo... credit to my neighbor Scott!
And it's a good thing I am here, because the garden is practically bursting at the seams!
Here is yesterday's tomato haul...


as well as peppers, cukes, and eggplants.
Blackberries are ripening and are oh, so sweet and juicy...
thanks to an abundance of rain.

We started harvesting our leeks yesterday...


cleaned and sliced them....


and made a leek and mushroom tart.
Yummy!


Remember the vines growing on the manure pile?
One pile is covered in tomatoes, and this pile has gourds and pumpkins.


Here are just a few of the gourds that were ready for picking...
(there are lots more just growing)


My little pumpkin baby gets bigger every week.
It's now about 10 inches.


I think the turkeys are happy to have me home...
they follow me everywhere!


As for the crazy runner ducks...


they are getting more and more adventurous.
Every morning when they leave the barn they set out to explore another new area of the farm.
The good thing is... they always remember their way home again!


Do you remember the portion of my front garden that I allowed to be taken over by milkweed?


And you might remember that I saw a Monarch butterfly hovering over those milkweed.


Within a few days I happened to notice that it was covered with Monarch eggs.


And after a few days, tiny caterpillars began to develop.


Then those tiny caterpillars began to eat...
and they ate, and ate, and ate those milkweed leaves
 until they grew to be huge caterpillars.


And then, those caterpillars made beautiful chrysalis(s)...
and began the process of transforming themselves into mature Monarch butterflies!


What a fascinating process to witness!
I am just so excited to have found all of these beautiful creatures in our weeds!

I am going to transplant some of those milkweeds


into my perennial garden and make a butterfly garden.


This particular garden, you might remember, has the bunny fence that I built a few years ago...


and over the years had become overgrown with weeds.
This past weekend I cleared out all of the weeds in preparation for
replanting this week.

Many thanks to my neighbors Jim and Kathy and Scott...
for letting me haul my computer to their house and jump on their internet.
We have no internet or phone right now...
after a lightening strike in May we have had nothing but problems.
Hopefully there is a fix on the horizon.
Time will tell....



Comments

Louise Stopford said…
Glad you had a wonderful break away. You are right though it is always lovely to come home (makes you appreciate it more). Your vegetables are fantastic this year - you will not go hungry in your house! Lovely to witness nature at it's best, the butterflies are beautiful.
Louise Stopford said…
P.S. I love those runner ducks, so glad they have come out of their shell and enjoying their lives on the farm.
GeorgiaHoneyBee said…
Missed you! So happy that you had a great getaway!
Colleen said…
So glad you had such a good time and glad you are back. It's alway fun to hear how the runner ducks are advancing on the farm. it's always hard not to comment on everything you post and today is really hard. Beach bling, the garden produce, butterflies the compost piles ... it's all fun!
Lynne said…
Welcome Home . . .
I have weeds here if you are bored.
Love the Milkweed garden and benefits!!!!
daisy g said…
Welcome back! So glad you had a wonderful getaway. The beach is a great place to recharge.
Yay for the runner ducks! They are starting to realize that they are home.

I've never seen monarch eggs like that. Ours were usually a pale yellow, almost cream colored and perfectly round. Maybe they're different up there. So glad you are able to enjoy the metamorphosis! It is an amazing thing to witness.

Enjoy your week back on the farm. We are so glad you are back. ;0D
This N That said…
I'm sure every body is as glad to have you back as you are to be back...Welcome home
..
jaz@octoberfarm said…
glad you had a fun trip! those butterflies are really something! i can't wait to see that garden.
Anonymous said…
love your milkweed story - pls let us know how the transplanting goes. i want to transplant four that i have found in the last two years on our farm. but i just read they are hard to move because of a big taproot. will have to do more reading, but so far, it sounds as if my best chance will be in spring, when they are first coming up. --suz in NE ohio
Kim said…
Glad you had a good trip. I found a wonderful website that has great recipes. The author has published one cookbook and another is forthcoming. She recently posted a delicious looking version of ratatouille that you might find interesting. Her website is http://www.smittenkitchen.com

Enjoy your day. We are getting a tremendous amount of rain in San Antonio Texas at the moment. Very unusual in August, but very welcome.
Anonymous said…
Glad you had a good trip. Love the monarch butterfly sanctuary!
Awesome to see a monarch butterfly colony like that!!... even their cocoons are beautiful..
Laura Sudderth said…
Glad you had such a wonderful time at the shore. The ocean is my spirit animal...if you will. It calms me and revives me. I just love the butterfly pictures. I am just in awe of the whole process. Thanks for sharing.
diane in northern wis said…
Welcome back Bev. We sure missed you. Love your pictures and stories. Oh and I love the milkweed pods with caterpillars and butterflies. Hope you will attract many more of those beautiful butterflies, with the moving of the milkweed plants to your new location. Hope it all works out just fine! So glad you had a good time on your vacation!!!
UplayOnline said…
So happy that you had a great getaway!


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