Definitely One of Us

This cat was definitely the right one for us.  She was meant to be.  My daughter only wanted a solid white kitten.  We went to the shelter and low and behold--they had this one white kitten.

She's very mellow.  She loves to be loved on.  She wants to purr and make dough on you all day long, if you'd let her.

She is quirky and odd.  Just like the rest of us!

Were having a little trouble getting her litter box trained.  I think she needs dewormed.  Maybe that will help.

The dog and the cat are getting along famously.  In less than two weeks, they were already acclimated to each other.  They aren't quite to the point that they'll share a sunbeam together yet, but they can pass within a yard of each other without incident.

I have always been very much a dog person.

But I love this cat!  :)

Weekly Harvest Weigh-In #6

Wow, the dog days of summer are here--with a vengeance!  This heat along with some frequent showers we've been getting has suddenly turned my garden into an impenetrable jungle.  Well, the squash patch, mostly.

I'm still trying to get over this bronchitis and I'm so far behind on things right now.  At least I am finally getting some sleep though!  I've managed to go outside in the cool of the evening and pull a few weeds here and there, but it's really going to take some work to get things back under control.

I missed yesterday's weigh-in, so I'm going to go ahead and post mine today.

Here's a basketful of summer goodness I brought in the other day...

I've got a little bit of mostly everything ripening now and suddenly I am up to my ears in summer squash and zucchini (although I thought I was being conservative, only planting four mounds).

My suspicions have been confirmed--some of my tomatoes are diseased, although I still have to figure out with what.  It is mostly the Costoluto Genovese.   I noticed they had problems with their fruit last year too, but I blamed it on how badly I had crowded them.  Some of them have been exhibiting small, rotting spots on the fruit that later turn to a fuzzy, pink fungus/mold sometime after being picked.  As an heirloom O/P variety, they seem to be particularly unsuited to our humid West Virginia summers, so I won't be growing them again.  I will still grow the San Marzano.  They are doing great.  Some of my other tomato plants have had some leaf curl on the bottom leaves that has now begun yellowing and dying off.  I'll have to take some pics and seek the advice of my knowledgeable friends over on TEG.

I did get to enjoy my first mouthwatering tomato sandwich of the season today.  Although it's hard for me to claim a favorite tomato, those Black Krims are certainly in my top 3.  Such a good looking and flavorful tomato!

Here's my numbers for the week:

Blackberries - 0.70 lb.
Strawberries – 2.06 lb.
Yellow squash – 3.22 lb.
Zucchini – 3.37 lb.
Garlic – 0.20 lb.
Pole Beans – 0.07 lb.
Asst. Tomatoes – 8.72 lb.

Total:  18.34 pounds of produce

I've decided to quit using the link-up tool since this thing never really took off.  It was a bit time consuming anyway.  But you are still welcome to leave a link to your weekly harvest in the comments section.  I'll be glad to drop by and see how things went!  :)

Linking this post to:

Go check 'em out!  :)

Mockingbird Rituals

For the past couple of weeks, this mockingbird has been faithfully showing up around 7pm each evening, perching himself on top of the electric pole in our backyard.  He has been singing his little heart out for us with every song he knows and we've really enjoyed him.  I don't know why, but he will occasionally hop up into the air a few feet.  He seems to be trying to get somebody's attention!

Weekly Harvest Weigh-In #5

A few recent soaking rains and some comfortably warm sunshine have really brought on a surge of growth in my garden this week.  I'm always amazed at how quickly a squash vine can cover ground.  It's nice to see things greening up and thriving finally after such a rough start to the season.

My harvest is just beginning to steadily trickle in now and before long I will be consumed with canning.  I had my pressure canner inspected last Monday and we are all set to go. 

I am really pleased with myself for getting the garden thoroughly mulched this year.  The weeds are not winning the war this time around.  I've been a bit under the weather since last Tuesday with a ragweed allergy that has made its way into my chest, causing me much coughing and loss of sleep, but fortunately I've not had to worry about the weeds getting ahead of me. 

Hopefully I will be over this miserable cough soon and back to normal.  I had planned to finish my new hive stand this past weekend, but I really didn't have the energy to mess with it.  It's half done now, with the posts leveled and set.  It's going to be really sturdy and will keep the ants out of my bee boxes.  I can't wait to show it to you.  (And I can't wait to bring my girls back home!)

Here's a quick peek at how the garden is growing this week:

My kitchen herb/flower garden is filling out.  I've managed to keep most of it weeded.  The large clump of grass in the middle is lemongrass.  It smells so yummy, like Fruit Loops!

The heirloom "greasy" pole beans are starting to make their way up the tee-pees.  The one on the right has started blooming very early compared to all the others -- possibly a new strain worth saving seed from.

Overview of most of the garden, looking to the north.

I'll have some crookneck squash to harvest and enjoy this week!

Overview of the garden, looking toward the south.  I have a lot more squash and melons than what you can see on the right.  They didn't all fit in the picture.

My Costoluto Genovese tomatoes and most of the other varieties I planted are loaded and will be ripening soon.

The Giant Marconi peppers are filling out.  Now I'm just waiting on them to turn red.

This year's attempt at no-dig potatoes.  You can watch a video on the method I used here.

Here's all of my onions after curing and prepping them for storage.

My weigh-in numbers for this week are as follows:

Red onions - 10.44 lbs.
Yellow onions - 22.84 lbs.
Ozark Beauty everbearing strawberries - 1.75 lbs. (about a pint)
Thornless blackberries - 1.41 lb.
Santa Fe hot peppers - 1.23 lb.
2 Genovese Costoluto tomatoes - 1.33 lbs.
(Plus a handful of Supersweet 100 cherry tomatoes that didn't make it inside to be weighed.  ;)

This week's total harvest weigh-in - 39 lbs.

I've decided to record all of my measurements in pounds just to keep it uniform and so I can keep a running total.

Ok, your turn!
(Special thanks to Meg at Sparing Change for telling me about InLinkz free linky tool!)

This Weigh-In will be open until midnight EST on Sunday, July 24th. All that is required is that your post be current and relevant to edible gardening that you have invested your own time and sweat equity in. Be sure to link to your specific gardening post and NOT your blog's main page. Please provide a link within your post to the current Weigh-In so that others can join in. You are welcome to grab the Harvest Weigh-In banner above and use it to link back here. This is a family friendly site and I reserve the right to remove any links that are inappropriate, irrelevant or otherwise deemed spam.

***Weighing in is optional; you are still welcome to link up a post about your garden!

If you don't have anything to weigh-in for this week, that's OK!***

Check back with us every Monday for the next week's Harvest Weigh-In! Take some time to visit other gardeners' blog posts below that may be of interest to you. Happy gardening!