The time I spend in the garden is equally divided between gardening, play and training with Stella, and artistic expression. In addition to hydrating and harvesting vegetables today, I painted a gift for my partner.
Original watercolor on paper from my California Series, copyright 2013.
~T.
Butterhead, Romaine, and Red Leaf varieties are off to a good start while we continue to prep the garden beds for our fall and winter vegetable crops. We are blessed to live in a climate zone with a growing season that lasts from March to November, and have soil that needs little to no remediation except for the weeding.
~T.
Grilled salmon with fresh herbs, lemon, and a see-through side of a little sassy dog.
~T
My adoption of Stella two years ago through the Circle of Hope K-9 Rescue non-profit organization in Milan, Tennessee was a decision made after careful contemplation of the responsibility and financial obligation that pet ownership entails. My want of a home and garden guard dog was a decision that I had contemplated for two years prior to the beginning of my search for her. After a year of futile searching, I was convinced that abandoning my quest for a rescue puppy to adopt was most sensible, and I could get back to the dog-free lifestyle that I was accustomed to living. I decided that I would look one last time on the Pet Finder.com Website before putting the notion of adoption out of my head for good. And that is when I found her:
Being that California allows us to garden all year long, Stella is on daily guard duty. She loves the climate and the work, and is thankful for the loving home we give her. It’s true; I am in puppy love.
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~T.
Morning Glory vines cover a six foot section of fence in the Garden’s back yard and discreetly hide my naked Iron Maiden.
~T.
There are numerous gardening guides and tips about harvesting fruits and vegetables that you may reference if you have questions about when and how to reap what you’ve sown. Planting, growing, and harvesting your garden is dependent on where you live but there is, most likely, an agricultural extension office and Website that can provide you with loads of appropriate information for the region in which you live.
My current favorite resource comes courtesy of the UC Davis Master Gardening Program: http://cagardenweb.ucdavis.edu/
My instincts and eyesight are usually reliable enough to ensure that I’m harvesting only those vegetables and fruits that have fully matured, and I typically prefer to pick them in the early morning hours between six and nine a.m.
I had to wait until late in the day to harvest last night’s garden treasures but their taste and vibrancy were not adversely affected.
~T.
Confectionery is broken up into three categories: chocolate, non-chocolate, and chewing gum. A bowl full of non-chocolate goodies picked fresh from our garden is in a category of its own: delicious.
~T.
~T.
Lycopene is a naturally occurring chemical that gives fruits and vegetables a red color. As you can tell by the photo, our tomatoes are loaded with the stuff. According to the American Cancer Society, a major claim for lycopene’s benefits is in the prevention and treatment of cancers of the lung, prostate, stomach, bladder, cervix, skin, and, especially, prostate. In support of these claims regarding cancer, proponents note that lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, a compound that blocks the action of free radicals, activated oxygen molecules that can damage cells, and that several scientific studies have found lower risk of cancer among people who eat lycopene-rich foods.
The bowl of tomatoes were grown in our garden, and we continue to harvest and eat them daily. With the triple digit heat that is expected to last until the 4th of July, I anticipate that we’ll be eating more of these lycopene rich fruits on a daily basis.
~T.
More than 80 percent of the pine nuts eaten in American are harvested from the Korean pine, (Pinus koraiensis) a native tree in eastern Asia. it is the most widely traded pine nut in international commerce.
Knowing this made the two-hour task of harvesting a half-cup of seeds from California’s native Gray pine trees (Pinus sabiniana) seem a bit less tedious, and the garden fresh basil and thyme pesto will taste all the better for having made the effort.
~T.
THERESA MAE FUNK 