HOMESTEAD BARN HOP- What's happening around this homestead...

It's been busy around my lil' homestead.  The zucchini and yellow heirloom squash are ripe and I realize that I planted way too many.

 Needless to say, I have been working on new recipes that include them.

Fortunately, a week ago I met Amy of Homestead Revival and besides being a warm and kind person, she planted an idea in my head that seems made for my squash dilemma: lacto-fermentation. I have been researching this process of food preservation and preparation online ever since.

It's been HOT lately, making everything grow faster, and I've been performing maintenance tasks around the garden.  My evenings have been spent working on walkways with a hula hoe while my mornings have been spent preening beds and topping off needy plants with fresh compost, stringing jute across trellises and training climbing plants.

   

My son made this handy little helper which he calls a "Pumpkin Hammock" to support the weight of pumpkins  growing on trellis.  So far this one is doing the job and it's bright and colorful.

 I also took a few hours this week to refresh flower beds and hanging baskets that were looking a little dreary as a few cool season annuals life cycles ended.  I planted heat tolerant dianthus in their stead..

I also want to share with you my two little garden miracles.

It began this spring when I planted flowers in two hanging baskets.  I water them by inserting a garden hose into these holes and the baskets are designed to "wick" the water up into the root zone via capillary action. One day, as I watered one basket a cute little baby frog popped out to greet me.

I went to water the other basket and this little green tree frog popped out of it.  

Now, every time I water the baskets, these little friends peek out.  

Sometimes they even jump out into the honeysuckle and mint below, but the next day they're back peeking out at me.  I have come to look forward to seeing them.  They are so smart to have found such great hiding places from predators and its a wonder to me how they scale the walls to get back in at night.

This is why I garden; why I grow food and nurture flowers.  Being out in the garden communing with nature is  my therapy.  The time I spend there renews my faith, and I never tire of nature's miracles.

Finally, before I close this post I want to share my excitement about something else.  My longarm is fixed!  Y-I-P-P-E-E-!  It's been broken for a while and I have LOTS of tops to quilt, like the one below.  Maybe my next post will include a completed quilt pic.  Crossing fingers.

Have a GREAT week.