Garden Close-ups

Here's some pictures I took last night of the ripening garden. Below is a nice close-up of the golden cherry tomato plant. Notice the hairs on the stem. The actual size of this tomato is about half of what you are looking at now. I had super-macro going on the camera.
Next we have one of seven basil plans (genovese, thai and curly) growing in the garden. There will be a lot of pesto to be made made this fall. Let me know of any freezing ideas for basil leaves by leaving a comment.

And finally, a wonderful shot of a cantalope that is about two weeks away from eating. Not the greatest producers these vines, lots of flowers, good vine growth but only three maturing melons. Not sure if this is normal or not.

The Plethera of Tomatoes

Help!!!!!! The tomatoes are coming on full force. I'll be putting some up (canning or freezing) this weekend. You'll notice the split skins on many of the larger tomatoes. I think this is due to explosive growth over the past few days. The tomatoes have literally grown out of their skins. And this in about three days. On Sunday there were only about 3 ripen ones and last night I have about 50. If you have any other ideas about the splitting skins or suggestions to improve this, please leave a comment.

Another trip to the yooper land

Spent another weekend up north at Beatons The weather was wonderfully warm and sunny except for Friday night when the temps dipped down to about 40 degrees - that's cold when you're sleep/freezing in a tent.
On Sunday morning the mama loon and her two babies paid us a visit - The babies are almost adult size now and can they swim, dive and make noise. It's amazing to see how fast they have grown since Memorial Day.
Saturday night found Todd and Eric on the pier trying their luck at fishing - well at least Todd was actually fishing, I think Eric was just coaching....

Grama Loves

Had a great birthday party for Grama Dorothy and Frank on the last weekend of July. The whole clan partied by the pool on a wonderful Sunday afternoon. And of course we had more food than we needed, but Todd once again amazed us all with his grilling techniques. Here's a sweet picture of Todd and Grama giving some love....

German may say Guten Tag at East this fall!

Previously I lamented in my blog about the East High principal getting rid of German. It seems over the summer, Herr Harris may have had a change of heart. It probably didn't hurt that many parents and community members kept up the pressure to reinstate the language. It appears now that funding is available for one class hour per day of German at the school. This will mean combining German 2 through 4 students into one class which will at least allow East students the opportunity to get four years of the same language. Not the best cause scenario but we'll take it!

Venison, the other white meat

Had a real Wisconsin meal last night - venison on the grill with a fresh garlic, rosemary ginger, lemon marinade. Wow! Venison is something that I've always taken for granted, being raised with a hunting family. It was nothing really to sit down to squirrel, rabbit or venison at family gatherings. This venison came from the Sauk/Juneau county line where my Dad has been hunting for years.

The colors of summer

I picked up a beautiful bouquet of summer flowers at the Northside Farmers Market on Sunday morning. The large bouquet was $5. The best deal around, if you ask me! The colors are absolutely mesmerizing. I took these photos outside last night at 6:00 pm. The natural lighting was phenomenal!
All right, one more photo, I just can't stop, the colors are too much!

Pico de Gallo

I much prefer a fresh salsa over a bottled version any day. And with the garden producing tomatoes, the freshest pico de gallo is just a 15 minute chopping session away. And this healthy veggie matter is good for you - just don't eat too many tortilla chips.....

Ingredients: (makes 3 cups)

• 6 fresh tomatoes - chopped
• 4 garlic cloves - minced
• 1 medium onion - diced (vidalia, white or red)
• 4 green onion stalks - chopped
• 3 tbs of Cilantro - chopped
• 1 roasted green chile (i.e; jalapeno, serrano or polbano)
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 tbs Olive Oil
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt and Pepper to taste

While chopping all of the veggies, roast the chile on a flame of your gas stovetop or in the oven until blackened and charred. Removed from heat and place in paper lunch bag for 10 minutes. Combine all of the chopped veggies in a mixing bowl. Add lime juice and seasonings. Remove chile from bag, run under cold water to removed charred skin, open and remove seeds and veins, dice and add to veggies.

For best flavor, let the pico de gallo rest in the refridge for 15-30 minutes to blend all flavors. Muy Bueno!

Summer flowers in full bloom

What the sun and Teiko haven't fried and the lack of rain hasn't shriveled, the perenials are doing well this summer, considering. The Beesbalm and Echinacea (cornflowers) have taken direct hits and may not survive the year (drastic measures are being taken to curtail Teiko and his markings....) However, in the front yard, the Rudbeckias are just beginning to bloom. The Geraniums are blooming again after a month of regeneration. Did you know that you can winter Geraniums in Wisconsin? By deadheading the flowers, cutting back all leggy branches, pulling out the plant (with roots intact) and storing them in a brown paper bag in a "warm" corner of the garage they often survive the winter. They can be a bit long and leggy the second year, but careful pruning and deadheading will force more leaves and better foliage. The newest addition to the garden is Papyrus - yep, the very plant that the Egyptians used to make paper. Papyrus loves water or very wet soil. For some reason it's doing very well planted in a whiskey barrel. When I planted it this spring, I placed a bowl under the roots to capture and hold water. This seems to do the trick. The plant stems are almost 4 ft tall now. For the winter, I'll bring them inside and put them in a tall glass vase with just water and rocks. It's nice to bring a bit of the garden into the house during the bitter cold days of Wisconsin winters.

Art in the garden

As many of you know, my favorite local artist is Ellis Nelson, a Muscoda welder who over the past 30-odd years has created folk art sculptures out of recycled metal. Many times it is of a crane, egret or other graceful bird, but he also does whimsical shaped pieces as well. Pictured above is one of my garden favorites for its curved lines and symetry.

I got my first sculpture when I was about 18 years old. Since then I've collected about 15 pieces. ( I have them throughout the garden, house and even in a few trees...) Another favorite sculpture is of the grim reaper which has been one of Ellis' reoccuring themes over the years.

A good Madison source for Ellis' artwork is at the Bindley Gallery at Hilldale. The Bindleys have been long time family friends and the first to introduce me to Nelson's artwork. Also, you can always take a drive out to Muscoda and stop by Ellis' welding shop where his latest creations are available for sale.