Summertime, Baby!

I'm not a big summertime person. I love autumn and winter. In fact, I wish it could be those two seasons year-round. In keeping with Murphy's Law, I live in an area where it seems to be summer year-round. But there are a few things about summer I adore. These are a few of them: Summer fruit, baby! Be gone, ye bananas, apples and oranges of yesteryear! (?) We have a farmer's market here every Friday, and this was last Friday's haul. Ripe peaches, plums and apricots. Add in some blueberries, blackberries and raspberries from Trader Joe's and here's dinner:

YUM! Things in my garden are looking quite summer-licious too. Here's a pomegranate on the up and up:

Some Granny Smith's makin' their way (the only way they know how. And that's just a little bit more than the law will allow):

Why are there always ants covering every single living thing in the backyard? UGH!

Here's an all-time favorite summer event---the gushing blossoms on the hydrangea: Just look at this beauty. Can someone tell me how to dry these heads successfully? Everytime I try, it's a miserable, wilty botanical-drying failure.

Here are a few white pumpkin vines that should be enjoying mass domination of the garden shortly. Oh, and I would be remiss not to include this. Summertime means Bug is out in the backyard daily having all sorts of outdoor fun. Yesterday it was this bunny's birthday. This is the bunny's birthday hat. Of course. Hey, I'm trying out the as-seen-on-tv Topsy Turvy upside down vegetable planter. That's a cucumber vine coiling out the bottom. Strange. I'll let you know how it goes.

Here's our vegetable garden on the side yard. Our first Early Girl. Why must she mar her beauty with a crack like that? Anyone? Some more pumpkin vines, this time of the Jack-O-Lantern variety. We're big on pumpkins in this house. That big yellow blob in the lower right corner? My knee. My bright yellow capri-clad knee. With kelly green stitching. They don't call me the most loyal HSU Lumberjack alumnus for nothing. Actually they don't call me that at all. They're just comfortable, albeit bright.

Here's the turnips. They've grown over the carrots and onions. Don't know a stitch about turnips. Should I pick them soon? Oh, and those two tiny spindly plants right to the left of the turnips? Two very sad, depressed, stunted bell peppers. They need Prozac, bad. Also trying to grow an heirloom tomato this year. Chocolate Stripe. Mmm.. I can't wait for a chocolate tomato. I always knew I liked vegetables.