June Garden and Other Outdoor Photos

Peas please! These grew beautifully for awhile, then hot weather hit and the vines turned brown almost overnight. Meg loved hunting for the little treasure pods and generally ate a portion of them before they made it inside. We didn't even harvest half a pound of these sweet snaps, but they were fun while they lasted! 

 The little larkspur patch bloomed lovingly all month long. These purple and white flowers added a nice cheery pop of color to the green vegetable plants.

 Blackberries blooming and fruiting.

Red raspberries grew very well but produced just a few handfuls.

 Dill in front, sunflowers behind.

 Spaghetti squash

 Crimson Sweet Watermelon

 The comfrey plant bushing out amongst the green beans.

 Evening rainbow and strange clouds

16 pounds of green beans were picked and eaten in June. We sautéed them alone, with potatoes, with squash, and with chard. A little garlic, salt, and coconut oil in a cast iron skillet made them scrumptious!

 Neighbor playmates came over for an afternoon swim and canoeing fun.

 More pretty sky pictures

 Another group over for canoe races and other games; teenagers this time.

 Success with my $1.00 lily bulb pack from Aldi!

June Garden Harvest: 40 pounds of green beans, mulberries, turnips & greens, Swiss chard, lettuce, snap peas, radish, dill, horseradish, and banana peppers.

Garden City, South Carolina/ Family Beachhouse Vacation

All 18 of us in front of the 5 bedroom, 4 bath beachhouse rental

After Thanksgiving in Charleston, our little family drove up the coast just south of Myrtle Beach to meet our bigger family for a few days of memory-making times. The beach was a short walk across the street and we visited each and every day whether it was pleasant outside or not! Over the weekend, the sand was covered with relaxing persons and pets, but the rest of the week we had the beach strip to ourselves.

Shannon helped out on our breakfast meal by making a slew of pancakes to go with sausage grits casserole and fruit. My morning sickness tends to get better when I'm away from home, but I was still tired with an unsettled stomach, so kitchen duty is not my favorite. It was very nice to just have a couple meals to think about, then relax and enjoy the rest!

overflow seating

backyard view

Aunt Britney treated us out one evening. We drove around a bit in search of seafood, but those restaurants were all "closed for the season", so we agreed on Chinese, which did present some fish, shrimp, and crab on the buffet, and we all ate dishes to our liking...including cheese pizza and French fries for Brit. 

Since we wouldn't be together for Christmas, Grandma incorporated gifts in this week of fun times. The littles were so anxious to open the pretty packages stashed in the corner and the girls had their private gift exchanges and girly talky times. The ladies went shopping one day, while the men rode go-carts and flea-marketed. Another day Grandpa escorted the bigs to the outlet mall.

mostly matching pajamas from Grandma

The wind picked up. So did the waves. We enjoyed the body boards and other sand & water gear furnished at the house rental. We also enjoyed a walk down to the pier watching surfers of all ages test the waves.

Ahhh, the sweetness of sun, sand, and surf!

Ninilchik and Homer ~Alaska Trip Day 37

Tuesday, August 30, we're on the way to Homer. We made a pit stop at Soldotna to gas up, empty tanks, and grocery shop at Fred Meyer (Alaska's Dillons or Kroger store). We encountered a not-so-happy lady there who informed us that driving the way we were, holding up traffic, would get us a ticket. Although a police car had followed us the last few miles into town. She did say, "Welcome to Alaska" twice, despite her irritation. Traveling later we finally understood the frequent signs that said Delay of more than 5 vehicles is illegal. Pull over and let the car train behind us by!

On the other hand, at a road construction stop, a very friendly lady encouraged to us pull forward so we could see the volcano Mt. Redoubt and offered local travel advice.

We stopped at the Russian Orthodox Church, then pulled through Ninilchik Village below. 

At 1:30 p.m. we arrived at the Homer overlook and saw 2 eagles soaring above us. We cruised into town, got wet at Bishop Beach, perused Island's and Oceans Visitor Center, drove up and down the spit, then set up camp by the sand.

Homer Spit jutting out into Kachemak Bay

Bishop's Beach

The Spit's tide going out.

Relaxing while the children play, watching the seabirds, chatting with locals who have their dogs out on the beach, picnicking for supper, building a campfire in the sand; these are the moments of soul refreshment that I long for and relish. 

"In moments like these I lift up my voice, I lift up my voice to the Lord; saying I love you, Lord..."