One recent evening over beers and casual conversation I mentioned that we have lots of hot peppers and someone suggested to pickle them. I embraced the idea and decided to try out pickling this weekend. I did not have any canning jars, so I went to a local hardware store to buy some. There I noticed they had broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower seedlings for sale, so I bought them.
To make some room for my new plants, I pulled out a wilting zucchini, a few cucumber plants past their prime and corn that no longer produce. I dug up potatoes I planted in spring, then picked more hot peppers and sweet banana peppers, one green bell pepper that I accidentally pushed over and a small ear of corn. There is also that yellow thing... I'm not sure what it is... might be something between a squash and a decorative pumpkin. One thing is for sure - I did not seed anything that looked alike the outcome.
While weeding in the garden, I noticed a few other things. Near parsley plants I found this black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. Welcome, friend! (Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I could not get my camera to focus.)
My first yellow bell pepper is ripening.
Winter squash has produced a single fruit. I hope there will be more.
In the afternoon I was catching shots of a golden finch on my sunflowers.
And right then a hummingbird flew right next to me to check out crown-of-thorns on the deck where I was standing.
Good day. I still need to pickle those peppers, though.
To make some room for my new plants, I pulled out a wilting zucchini, a few cucumber plants past their prime and corn that no longer produce. I dug up potatoes I planted in spring, then picked more hot peppers and sweet banana peppers, one green bell pepper that I accidentally pushed over and a small ear of corn. There is also that yellow thing... I'm not sure what it is... might be something between a squash and a decorative pumpkin. One thing is for sure - I did not seed anything that looked alike the outcome.
While weeding in the garden, I noticed a few other things. Near parsley plants I found this black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. Welcome, friend! (Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I could not get my camera to focus.)
My first yellow bell pepper is ripening.
Winter squash has produced a single fruit. I hope there will be more.
In the afternoon I was catching shots of a golden finch on my sunflowers.
And right then a hummingbird flew right next to me to check out crown-of-thorns on the deck where I was standing.
Good day. I still need to pickle those peppers, though.
Do you know those books "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. . ."? This is like the gardener's version. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful fauna sightings!
Yes, the title was on my mind when I made the entry. I did not use it only because a few of my Latvian friends would not get that reference.
ReplyDelete