Harvest time.

See that little bit of red? That is my wheelbarrow. My totally normal-sized, not-miniature-at-all wheel barrow. The giant UFO sized disks are sunflowers. Ahh harvest time, so rewarding, so overwhelming...

Refrigerator Pickles

The thing I love about summer, especially late summer, is eating fresh food from the garden. Like refrigerator pickles. The recipe could not be easier...

...how does your garden grow?

Welcome to part 2 of my mid-summer garden update. You are thrilled I am sure. Whatever, I am doing it anyway.

The play area looks really different. The daisies have filled in, the grasses are growing but short, (I may replace them with something taller in the fall) and the grass has filled in except for all the places we killed it by leaving toys out. (The shade on the sand box is fine, it just rained and I forgot to straighten it before taking this picture.) The climbing wall has become a place for building forts. Adorable, yet not pretty. Good thing this area is more about fun than pretty.

Mary, Mary quite contrary...

Can you believe it is mid-summer already? Holy cow. Summer must be the fastest season. Really, July always seems to catch me off guard. I thought it would be a good time to take stock of what's happening in the garden. The spring garden is, of course, well past it's peak, and there is something eating the columbine. But...

I just sleep in the house.

Yup. That about sums it up.

I wish I had been the one to come up with this graphic, or that I could track down who did, because I think we could be besties, but it was one of those bad pins on Pinterest that goes nowhere.

This time of year don't bother calling. I'm in the garden. And I'm not taking calls. Visitors, yes. Calls, no way man.

Our local "Frost Date" is anticipated around here like Christmas. By me if not by everyone else. But even before it is "safe" to be planting out tender seedlings, I find plenty to do in the garden. Like creating a natural play space for my Personal Assistant. And setting up my portable greenhouse for seed starting, and constructing a fence/tomato cages to keep the Personal Assistant from sliding down the hill and over the wall.

It actually came it pretty great and cost a fraction of a regular fence. I think it would be perfect if you need a fence around the veggie garden for keeping critters out. The blow by blow is after the jump.