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And happy to be here.

Lot's of work waiting for me.

It was a very good year.
Every fruit tree is laden.

Canadian Geese never left.
They are gorging themselves on fallen apples and pears. 





Clyde and Lola have decided to get along with the interlopers after all.

Have already filled many shelves in the cellar.

Lakota squash are stored. 

Love them all, flowers and fruit.

Himrod grapes take longer to ripen
Interlaken grapes were harvested before we left for Europe.

A few stragglers left.

I don't think that the little apple tree will make it through the winter.  
We will try and prop it up and see what happens. 
It bears delicious apples.  Don't want to lose it.







Time to admire the evening light and recharge.

Hope you are taking time out to enjoy your surroundings.  

Gina

https://normandylife.blogspot.com/

My garden is growing...all by itself.

My garden

Nasturtiums for salads

Onions are almost fully grown.

Our favorite squash, Lakota, is doing well in the new patch.

Foxglove and State Fair Zinnias provide lots of color.

The Italians only grow one kale.

Lacinato Nero de Toscana.

There is a reason.  It is delicious, nutritious and easy to grow and handle.  

These peppers where planted by mistake.  They are quite large.  

Do you know what they are? And do you have a recipe?  Could one stuff them? 

My tuberous begonias never disappoint.  I can't remember how old they are.  

They go into a dark corner in my greenhouse and I don't see them until April of the following year.  

Everything is maturing all at once...there is not enough time in the day to get it all harvested. 

There will be lots of vegetables and fruits to share with friends and neighbors 

There will be lots of apples this year for the pig farmer.

This turned out to be the best mixed lettuce seed packet. 

I'm heading for Italy soon.  Will look for another.

This is one of the last hollyhocks, a reminder to gather their seeds. 

My old rose bushes surprise me with a few blooms now and then.  

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Gina 

https://betweennapsontheporch.net/

We are celebrating, again.

Plein air Competition and Artist Studio Tour, Spring City, Utah.

The four day event will culminate tonight with the announcement of winners. 

Artists from near and far will have painted in 

en plein air for 3 days.  

While Pasha is taking it easy,

I have been painting lots of tiles for new kitchens.

A few new pieces are still in the kiln. 
If all goes well they will become part of the 
Artist Studio Tour Sale tomorrow afternoon. 

This is also the time of year when we are very busy harvesting and preserving.

And still bottle feeding Liesel who has been reunited with her cousin "Charming Hansel".  


I will show you photos of the winning paintings tomorrow. 

Wishing you a wonderful Labor Day weekend. 

Gina 

It's harvest time

 There is enough produce growing in my garden to challenge the weeds.

Peaches are almost ripe.

This is how we harvest beans...

we pull out the entire plant and pull the beans while sitting in the shade.  

Enough beans to last all winter. 

You do know how beans grow.

We pulled the first onions at the same time.

The rest will have to grow some more.  

A family portrait, the Farmer, his dog and the photographer.  

Onions drying on the wall. 

(Look how clever is Mr G.  He places plastic wrap into the sieve first to form Pesto packets).

Liesel has been pampered.  The rest of the Farmers are shaking their heads.  They all say that she should be with the rest of the herd by now.  In the meantime I'm still bottle feeding her 4 times a day

Liesel likes to spend time under an old apricot tree.  Hope she does not get sick from eating apricots and their pits.

Will her Father recognize her when she is put with the rest of the herd?  I know that her Mother won't care, she is the one who abandoned my little charge.  

I will be like a mother duck who watches her ducklings going for their first swim.  

Hope your week goes swimmingly. 

Gina 

http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Abundance

Someone, please stop me!

Last week I couldn't stop painting.

This week I can't stop canning.

Our garden is overflowing with produce.

Some of it will have to wait till we get back from Europe.

Our champagne grapes have produced my very special

Champagne Grape Jelly.

We have a bumper crop this year.

The rest will have to become "Spätlese"

Paris, Soprabolzano, Deruta and all places in between are calling.

We will be there in a few days.

Gina

The first of the 2009 Harvest

Fruits of our Labor

The first of the 2009 harvest. Our house is built right in the middle of a very large alfalfa field. In between the buildings, which consist of the main house, garage with greenhouse and guest quarters and the large barn, is an area dedicated to one of our vegetable and flower gardens.

The rows are short, so not to be too discouraged when weeding. Our soil is rich and clean. An old homestead existed on this very spot. A hundred years ago, no pesticides or chemical fertilizers were used on this land. We are now the beneficiaries of such excellent land management.