Quiet Moments, Flying Geese and Russell Crow(e)

Greetings Fellow Earth Dwellers:

July was an absolute blur for us out here at No Regrets.  So, I'm not going to lie that when I saw that the last week of the month and the first few days of August had nothing, seriously nothing, written in my day timer, I smiled a little smile and mouthed a quiet "thank you". 

Don't get me wrong!  We Absolutely LOVE having company - after all, when we built this house, we designed it specifically for entertaining!  We both LOVE having folks come out, the deck parties and catching up with everyone!  But when it literally comes in waves, one day on top of the next, with only a moment to do a load of laundry and plan another meal, it can get a bit overwhelming.  We were both happy for a few days of just us two.  I am also happy to report that this weekend and next week will be back to the usual social activities for us.  I am looking forward to spending time with the next arrivals and catching up with all the news. 

So, what have we accomplished during these quiet moments?  I actually got some serious Studio Time in, while Papa got caught up with his weeding and yard work.

I am working on couple of secret projects for two loved ones.  It has given me moments to really remember times shared and the deep bonds we have, although we are literally separated by a continent.  I will share that the first one has 216 red flying geese on a cream colored sky background.  This involved starting with 216, 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" red rectangles and 432, 2 1/2" cream squares.  These first blocks are complete and have been joined into strips. Now for the next step.  I will post more when I am able to, without giving too much away. 

Red Flying Geese on a Cream Sky

We have had some heat recently, so the garden is really starting to pop!  I swear that the corn literally grew 12" yesterday, from when I first walked by in the morning, to later in the evening when I dumped the final wheel barrow of weeds.  I actually did a double take, it was that dramatic!

We have been checking daily the progress of the peas, cherries, raspberries and beans for signs of readiness to be harvested.  Still patiently - perhaps not so patiently - waiting.  The peas are filling.  The cherries are ripening by the day.  The beans are getting longer.  And when those raspberries finally start to really ripen, I predict that we will soon be overrun with them!  It just might be a super busy couple of weeks as I am anticipating that everything is going to be ready all at the same time!

Peas filling nicely!

Apples getting bigger every day!

When we were at a local greenhouse earlier this spring, we spied a couple of Blueberry Bushes specifically hybrid for Alberta's challenging growing conditions.  The test plants were developed and grown in Northern Alberta.  They get more summer sun than us, but their winters are longer, darker and colder.  We deduced that if these are thriving up there, we should have similar success here.  So we bought 2 of each plant offered and are hoping for the best!

So far I have harvested a few berries - and yes, I did share with Papa! - they taste amazing!  

Papa, being a Prairie Boy, only ever really knew Saskatoon's, sort of a Blueberry cousin, but not really.  The taste and texture is definitely its own.  

Me, being from the Maritime's, prefers Blueberries.  Hand's Down.  No Contest.  As a child, I remember picking buckets of wild blueberries in the bushes not far from our home.  

When I first tasted Saskatoon's, I didn't get the love of this berry.  To be honest, I still don't.  The mouth feel isn't right for me.  I know I shouldn't compare them - like comparing raspberries and blackberries - two totally different berries.  They work for me in a pie, or muffin or a crumble, but to just eat them, not my favorite.  The Blueberry/Saskatoon debate has been ongoing in our house for decades.  So when I picked 2 of each berry and offered Papa a chance to taste test them, side by side, I was shocked to hear him say that he definitely preferred the Blueberry!  Score One for Me!  We have a row of young Saskatoon's in our orchard, but I am thrilled to have these Blueberries as well.  Hopefully they survive our winter.

Blueberries!

The overview of the 2019 Garden

Earlier this spring, we transplanted 100's if not 1000's of Sunflower seedlings from the garden, to a dirt pile in the back pasture.  Our hopes was that it would be covered with assorted sunflowers later this summer.  It appears our experiment is a success!  It is just covered with sunflowers in all different sizes and colors!  It is going to be absolutely striking when they all finally bloom!  I'll be sure to take pictures when the colors pop!  I am so excited over this!

One of the Sunny's reaching for the Sky!

Dirt pile with transplanted Sunflower seedlings

We have begun to harvest some of the garden.  I got 7 quarts of stewed tomatoes done the other day.  This is the beginning of the restocking of our cold cellar.  We have several bags of snow peas blanched and frozen now too.  We had stuffed green peppers the other night for supper, then decided to start bringing in the ripe sweet peppers to be cut up and frozen. I need to check on the strawberries again and have done three batches of strawberry jam so far.  The rest will probably just be topped and frozen for winter use.  It is nice to start to fill up the veggie freezer again.

The chickens are all doing well.  Our new little girls are starting to lay a bit more now.  Russell Crow, our new little rooster, is sure getting big already.  He is a handsome boy.  He has been crowing so much lately, duelling with the older rooster in the other pen! They are hilarious to listen to.  Russell Crow has already taken the guardian position of his girls.  When we go out to put the chickens in at night, he stands between us and his women, just to make sure we know he's watching us and ready to defend them.  He and Papa have already had the discussion as to who exactly is the Head Rooster around here.  Russell wasn't too excited to have this discussion, but they are on speaking terms again.  It will probably be two more weeks before we harvest Russell's brothers, so it will become a lot quieter in the hen house.  He is going to be a good rooster for our girls.  I'll have to remember to take a picture of him to share.  

Other than that, we have been enjoying evenings on our deck listening to the pond running.  We have had many suppers out there as well.  I have been working on my EPP project in the evenings, often out on the deck.  It has been a nice, quiet summer week for us here.  We are officially recharged and ready to take on our next week's adventures!

Enjoy your weekend.

Gremlynn