Strawberry Picking

Strawberry Fields forever!

Yay! June is for strawberry picking!
My child is a very, hungry little girl who will gladly eat through more than "four strawberries on Thursday" and still be hungry. So my mind was set on heading to the western edge of Franklin county (literally on the Madison county line) to Circle S Farm for some classic strawberry picking with our one-year old as soon as June hit.

Imagine my disappointment when the first day of June was 50 degrees. Yikes! Those are some cold strawberries. But June 2nd was it was forecasted to be be 60 by lunchtime with 0% chance of rain, so we could wait no longer. Off we went.

It was a little bit of drive. A pretty drive into parts of Franklin County I had not seen for over 15 years which was the last time I was at Circle S. Eva used the mid-morning drive to get in a power nap before she did her serious picking.

Totally psyched at arrival.

Once she was in the field, I could not keep the strawberries away from her... or in her bucket. She picked and picked and ate and ate. I was convinced when we went to check out the cashier would have to weigh my daughter to get the accurate amount of strawberries we picked. 

We took a little break to explore the rest of the farm and to our great surprise we found goats. Super friendly goats. Eva loved them! They loved her especially when she fed them strawberries. Much laughter and mah-mah-mahing ensued. There was also a shy albino rabbit that Eva desperately wanted to play with her.

All in all this was a win in my book. We paid $7.92 for nearly four pounds of strawberries and had a blast at the farm. I wish strawberry season wasn't so short. These lovely strawberries inspired me to make strawberry shortcake (Bisquick recipe with my own hand-whipped cream).

Perhaps we will visit Circle S in the fall for pumpkin picking... and definitely again next June.

The cashier is holding a strawberry up behind the camera. 

Strawberry deliciousness. 

Herb Gardening

I am letting my regular garden go dormant this year. As a result, I am hoping it yields better veggies next year. Last year we had lettuce, tomatoes, and radishes. The year before we had tomatoes, cantaloupe, and bell pepper. It is time to let the soil rest for a season.

In my potted barrels on the patio, I decided I could still do a little gardening while we let the garden area rest. Italian basil, sweet basil, flat-leaf parsley and cilantro are the plants of choice. I use herbs in lots of my cooking so this will be nice to just head outside and pick my own.

I'm 13 months old... and like to play in the dirt! 

Conservatory

We took a winter reprieve by driving to the near east side to the Franklin Park Conservatory.  The lush plants, beautiful orchids, and brightly colored glass sculpture captivated us for a couple hours allowing us to forget the frigid temperatures outside.

We were able to see a few butterflies even though they aren't really in full release until next week.

Eva liked all the waterfalls.  Our one recommendation is that you save the South Conservatory for last. We liked it the best so therefore 'save the best' for last was quite a reward.

Radishes & Summer Salads

I love my little garden.

This year it holds radishes, lettuce, and the magical-volunteer tomatoes.  I, of course, planted the radishes and lettuce but these magical tomatoes keep volunteering to come up on their own year after year. While I'll have to wait until later in the season for the tomatoes, I recently harvested some of the radishes:

Aren't they pretty?

The lettuce is a mesclun mix... perhaps including arugula and frisee. This has inspired some great summer salads:

Grilled tuna and grilled vegetable salad

Breaded chicken and radish salad

$4 Garden

Believe it or not I bought the plants for our garden back in May from Marc's and we are still reaping the rewards.  I purchased two pepper plants, a cantaloupe plant, and a regular tomato plant were all just a dollar each!  So my total was $4. Wow! I didn't buy any soil or MiracleGro, so the $4 was really $4. A true savings. I even had two "volunteer" cherry tomato plants show up. All the more for the bounty. 

What we yielded (as of yet... but the harvest continues):

2 Cantaloupes

170 cherry tomatoes

5 green peppers

12 regular tomatoes

And what we've made: 

Salsa (2 batches)

Guacamole (2 batches)

Spicy tomato pasta sauce

Pasta Primavera

Salad fixings

Cantaloupe Smoothies

Fruit Salad

Cantaloupe with yogurt

Salsa!! 

Cantaloupe smoothie. Mmmm. 

Jesus tells of the parable of the farmer... of which, I am not.  "And still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop -- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."   Matthew 13:3-9

Greenthumb Adventure Tip: Mom was right. Cantaloupe takes over the garden, especially a small garden! I suspect cucumbers do the same thing. 

Summer Recap // the circle

It has been a great summer (and it's still not over) but I am checking in on my summer to-do list.  Now my "to-do" lists are never serious enough to warrant disappointment when things are not accomplished.  I usually make lists long enough to be happy if one or two items are checked off.

• Drive In Movie with Keith:  Not able to do this... although suggested a few times... the weather didn't seem to cooperate enough.

• Visit the Ohio Village: They'll close on Labor Day so this will have to wait until next summer or the next or the next.

• Study Proverbs 31 and Psalms 31: This was an awesome study for me because I am 31 years old so it will be easy to recall when I studied these. I did homiletics for each of the chapters.  Both passages were a blessing to me this summer. Noteworthy verse: "O how abundant is your goodness that you laid up for those who fear you, and accomplished for those who take refuge in you in the sight of everyone!" ~Psalm 31:19

• Cleveland Indians Away Game:  Yup, we made it to good old Detroit.  We also went to 4 home games together, too. 

• Columbus Zoo visits (with Dad/with Cortney): Was able to get out there twice, once with Keith and one very short visit with Stacie and Larkyn.   

Sweet Larkyn at the Zoo.

Julie with the pink flamingos.

Keith with his kinsmen-- the penguins. 

• Breakfast with Stacie:  Twice!  Sunny Street Cafe deliciousness and also a picnic lunch on the Scioto Mile. 

• Make salsa with Garden Tomatoes:  Oh so good! With my garden tomatoes and garden peppers.

• Take Baby James on a Boat Ride: Not yet, but he has a lifejacket!!

• Make s'mores in the fire pit:  Again, weather didn't seem to cooperate for us. 

• Lunch with Ruth:  Our schedules didn't align this summer but I am sure there will be an outing in the fall.  We had lovely phone and email conversations to tide us over summer break. 

• Host a backyard cookout:  You betcha!  Roasted corn, fried fish, grilled steaks, potato salads and great friends! 

Great things that happened this summer that weren't on the list:  Christin visits Columbus and the Lake, Surprise visit from Sara in June, Fishing boat ride in the Outerbanks, Tutoring Abigail in Calculus, Visit with Grandma C, Went to an Aeros game, Fun baby shower for Susan, Clippers game with Colleen and Mom, and my Jeep hit 250,000 miles. God is so abundant with His goodness! 

Linking up with:

Tulip Journey

Oh, the joy of watching the things that are planted grow!!!

Last fall, I made my first attempt at planting bulbs.  I planted tulip bulbs and daffodil bulbs.  The daffodils were to bloom early spring (which they did) and the tulips were to bloom late spring.  I cannot tell you how exciting it was to see the "fruits" of my labor as the sprouts peeked through the ground.  What was planned and planted grew!
This was done to ensure the beauty of color would paint the canvas of our landscape from spring through fall.
Daffodils - early spring;
Tulips - late spring;
Daylilies - late May through early summer;
Black-eyed Susans - by August and late summer
Chrysanthemums- early fall and stay hardy until nearly Thanksgiving

BUT even with the promise of continued color, today we have just one tulip left... and it seems so sad. The lilies will be here soon but I really was hoping the tulips would hang on a little longer.

Here's a glance at our tulips' journey over the past month:

The excitement begins on St. Patrick's Day

Snow on March 26th

April 10th

Seeing the buds on April 16th

Daffodils and Tulips together on April 18th

After the rain on April 29th

Petals scatter the ground by May 3rd.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I have to say that I am quite proud of the items our garden has cultivated this season.  Much of it is not due to my own efforts... I have to admit.

Basil, Cherry Tomatoes, Mint, Parsley

BUT a kind reminder of what the earth can grow sits upon my kitchen window sill.  So each day I can see the basil that grew in a planter that the previous owners of our home had left. I can pick and see the cherry tomatoes that grew from a volunteer near our garage.  The mint that I collect from under the fence (thanks neighbors).  And lastly, the parsley that I grew myself from seed, in a mason jar.  Go green thumb!!