This and That…..

Is it just me or is summer slipping by too fast this year? I have noticed maple leaves falling already and a few of my blueberry bushes are turning flame colors. But it has been nice and I won’t complain. The highlight this week was playing bike shop and dusting off my bike. Kirk got me the bike the spring I got pregnant with Walker. Ouch. It sat for 4 years in our garage. This weekend I found a great deal on a InStep Quick N EZ Double Bicycle Trailer. Fits 2? Er…if yer kids are under 50% percentile 😉 Our joke is it is their “Get-A-Long-Crate”. Hahhah! They loved it though.

For some reason 4 or so years ago, I thought a girlie bike was a great idea. It isn’t burly or anything, but it is comfy and I can ride sitting up. It really needs a basket though!

Kirk and I have been talking that family biking would be a wonderful project. He loves biking and I am sure my butt will hate me less over time. If anything, it is something we can do as a family, that doesn’t wear the boys out. We can only get 3 or so miles out of Walker when hiking.

Our thought is to get another trailer, to carry family gear in. I can’t wait to do more, we had a really nice Sunday ride! And I have a helmet I actually like now.

I lost every one of my squash and cucumber plants in the past few weeks. They all got infected by a fungus. The best thing you can do is rip out and get out of your garden. Ah well. I learned a few lessons with that this year – and I did get some produce, so no complaints. Now though…August has paid off. We had a great blueberry season (only a few berries are left off our 40 or so plants – the boys loved it).

My secret? When I went crazy on strawberry plants this year, I bought mostly ever-bearers, rather than june-bearers. While the june plants might often have huge showy berries, the ever-bearers are often small, intense flavored berries. I have at least 250 plants in the ground and have controlled runners to promote growth. This past week the second harvest of strawberries has gone crazy! I am picking 2 to 3 dozen berries every other day. The boys LOVE it!

My one roma tomato plant is ripening and is loaded. I totally bought too short cages though, lesson learned on that. All my tomatoes have flopped over as they got too big. Oops!

Romas, yellow pear tomatoes and green beans.

Another day of strawberries!

And yet another day – yesterday evening. We pick after dinner often. Today I was working on the garden and turned around not seeing Alistaire. I asked Walker, who was on the playset where baby was. “He up here, Mama!” Whaaa???? Oh man, he climbed the steps all the way to the top of the play set, to get into the tower. He was SO proud of himself. My baby is getting to be a big boy.

And yet, I feel a tinge of sadness. The harvest is winding down. The second crop of carrots and rhubarb are growing well, but soon the berries will dwindle down. But I’ll enjoy it till then. And smell the late summer roses on my bushes:

I have some pondering coming up, about new ideas for my blog, that I’d love to run by everyone – and get feedback. Tonight, I had a lot on my mind, I found out today one of my favorite old guys recently passed away at 91. I am writing a post for my brother’s blog of memories of Red. Bless you, Red, and may you rest in peace. You survived Pearl Harbor and lived another 70 or so years, with a life and a half. So till then…see you tomorrow.

~Sarah