Our Garden's First Harvest

The first 10 berries all became ripe today - and they were very, very good. I love the way our patch goes from almost full sun to almost full shade. The berries ripen from front to back in a relatively orderly manner, extending our season a little. (Although the sunny ones certainly tend to be the sweetest.)
Today was the last day of school! I made a peach cobbler with two of the last quarts of peaches as a celebration for the summer birthdays. It was a hit.

I also made a batch of split pea soup last night from the ham bone we "created" earlier in the week. (Mmmmm...ham, black-eyed peas, and beet greens.) After sitting in the fridge overnight it was divine for tonight's dinner. I keep my recipe simple and it works every time - 2 lb. split peas, one meaty ham bone, 4 stalks chopped celery, 4 diced carrots, 2 chopped onions, and some salt with a bunch of water. Simmer for a long time. :) I've tried the recipes with thyme or bay leaves but never really noticed that they were better. We even have leftover ham to mix in this time too!
And, finally, the new freezer, all 20 cubic feet of it. My friends were surprised at how full it already is. The white packages in the drawers are the 1/4 cow (grass-fed, organic, free-range - woohoo) that we bought. Cows are big.