Garden Wildlife

This morning's harvest

Production is picking up. Lactofermented pickle experiment started last week and I'm going to have to start canning the regular pickles soon and freezing eggplant Parmesan slices. We're soon going to start drowning in eggplant and cucumbers without careful management and the tomato and summer squash deluge is just around the corner. More comprehensive garden update and our new Midsummer Vegetable Patties recipe (think Italian egg foo young) coming soon.

I hate snakes. Like in an embarrassing, irrational startle and I'm unable to return to that part of the yard for the rest of the day way. I keep trying to be happy that we seem to have at least a couple good sized garter snakes living in the yard. Intellectually, I know they'll keep rodents out of the compost pile and seem like a good sign that our yard is a nice non-poisonous place to live for critters. Emotionally, *shudder*.

On a happier note, I saw two goldfinches and a house finch in the sunflowers today. We also have mourning doves, robins, and magpies who have all set homes in or near the yard. Squirrels round out nature's menagerie out there and keep the cats busy chattering at the windows.

We got our special use permit this week so we're set (by next spring at the latest) to install two beehives and four hens back there. Three dwarf nanny goats are also permitted but probably a little farther down the road. It's so exciting to see the yard slowly improving. :) Happy summer!