The Meyer Lemon tree my mom gave me for Easter is doing well! There are about five or six green, golfball-size lemons on the little tree right now! Though I don't expect to actually get any edible fruit until next year. I need to transplant the tropical tree near to the herb garden just to get it out of its plastic pot.
The garden is slowly waning in the 110-degree summer. We still have some potatoes and onions in the ground that will all come up in the next week and plenty of roma tomatoes There are a few sandandy peas drying on the plants as well as basil seed drying to a crispy brown on the plant. A few rogue overgrown cucumbers will delight the chickens plus they will get a ton of dried marigold flowers sometime soon as we prepare to till under the front garden for the next planting.
We've canned or frozen what feels like a ton of tomatoes! We've enjoyed them fresh cooked or raw, fried green, roasted, stuffed, baked, grilled, sauteed, peeled and sliced for jars or freezer bags, pureed, made into salsa, pasta sauce, and ketchup! Next up will be some tomato soup to can for the pantry to enjoy later this winter.
Only a few more weeks and it will be muscadine season round here! The chickens are already enjoying lots of fallen grapes as snacks, but they do prefer the softer raisin-like texture or purple ripe texture as opposed to those green ones. We pick them off the ground by the bucket full for the birds to enjoy! A raccoon and other little animals love to eat them too so hopefully there will be plenty left for us. Last year I think we made about 20 some jars of jelly. To make at least that will be nice and feels like "free" food when you didn't even have to plant it and grow it!
Speaking of chickens, check out the Ramsey Farms Facebook page tomorrow for more construction-stage photos of the deluxe chicken cottage. They gals are 17 weeks old tomorrow, but so far no eggs. We placed two golf balls as egg decoys in the nesting boxes in the back of their coop as helpful hints. They could lay at any time now, but it may still be as many as seven weeks before we get fresh eggs. Stay tuned on that!
...Until then, smile as much as you breathe, wear sunblock on your face, give generously, and dance like no one is watching!
Cheers,Ramsey
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear sister today! She's such an inspiration in my life and I'm glad we have one another for when we need strength, craziness, live musicals, tears, ideas, inspirations, or memories. Love ya MSP!
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