<<Featured image: Today’s featured image is a close-up of a Coneflower bloom. I thought it was interesting the way the middle of the flower creates a swirl pattern.>>
BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS
Some of our plants have pretty much bloomed out, but our Phlox plants have just recently opened up. Our Gallardias are still going strong, and our coneflowers are looking good as well. Linda took these two pictures below on Saturday. Together they present a nice study in pink.
I have finally started riding my bicycle a little bit. It’s been warmer lately so I found I could take a ride in the early morning. I take my phone with me in case I fall off my bike (that hasn’t happened in ages), or in case I want to take a picture. The other day I rode by this house that had a trumpet vine alongside the road. The bees were all over it. I was hoping to see a hummingbird, but had to settle for just a picture of the flowers.
Lately I have been bemoaning the fact that it has been unusually chilly in Yakima so far this summer. Mother Nature has corrected that with a vengeance. For the past couple of weeks, we have had nice warm temps in the high 80’s and low 90’s. This week it has been in the high 90’s, with yesterday (Tuesday) clocking in at 102 degrees. Still, I prefer the heat to the cold, and my garden definitely agrees with me. I have seen the veggie plants jump up in the last week. Everything is putting out flowers, which is a precursor to the actual produce that I hope to pick. I even got a handful of cherry tomatoes off of the Sweet 100 (I beat the Robin to them this time), as well as another Shishito pepper and an almost ripe Early Girl tomato. I picked the tomato so I could let it ripen inside. I’m a little paranoid now about the possibility of a bird pecking my tomatoes, but when things really start producing, that will go away. It makes me so happy to see those beautiful red orbs out in my garden!
THE BIRD SECTION
A good week is one that includes an out-of-the-ordinary bird sighting. One day I was sitting outside under the tree, watching the birds, when all of a sudden a nearby Robin began chirping. He chirped, and he chirped, and he chirped…it seemed to go on forever. Then I heard a different bird call, so I grabbed my phone and began videoing the scene just so I record the bird call. Soon I determined where the call was coming from, so I got up from my chair and pointed my phone in that direction. Way up in the very top of this big tree that’s behind our house sat a very large bird. From the looks of it, I believe it was a Red Tail Hawk.
The Robin kept up his chirping, sounding the alarm for other birds, until the hawk flew away.
Another day I was sitting outside with Summer Girl when I noticed a Scrub Jay foraging around underneath the bird feeder. He wasn’t making a sound, but you-know-who had her eye on him the whole time. And he was only about 5 feet away from her.
IT’S NICE TO KNOW A BREWER
This week we were treated to some more beer brewed by our friend Jerry Radebaugh. This time he tweaked the recipe on his Stout and Lager beers, so we got a large bottle of each one to taste test. This past weekend we had the Stout, and although I am not a big fan of the darker beers, I did want to give this one a try. I was pleasantly surprised that it was quite enjoyable. Smooth and not bitter at all. Actually, we both loved it although Linda did say that to her, it had more of a “bite” to it than the last Stout he made, so she preferred the previous one. I didn’t have any of the previous one so I can’t say, all I know is it was pretty doggone good.
WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES
One of the things that was so wonderful about living in the South was all of the watermelons that were EVERYWHERE during the summer months, and some of them were quite large. Here is a picture of my mother (from sometime in the 1970’s) standing beside one that must have won a prize of some sort, although I’ve seen bigger ones. She used to call watermelons “go-go’s,” she said that’s what they were called in Florida, where she grew up.
My aunt Grace used to make the best watermelon rind preserves, so when I saw a recipe for that I just had to make it. Linda bought us a watermelon last week, one of those small ones since there are only two of us to eat it. The rind wasn’t very thick and there wasn’t a whole lot of it, but I was determined to try my hand at this. It took me most of an afternoon to make the preserves because you have to cook it for at least an hour and stir, stir, stir so it doesn’t burn. I wound up with a pint jar of preserves, and I’d be lying if I said they were anywhere close to being a good as Grace’s. But I think they turned out decent for a first attempt. Next time we will get a larger watermelon, though, and just eat watermelon every day…not a bad thought!
A NEW PRODUCT TO TRY
One of my fellow bloggers here on WordPress posted a picture last week of a new product she found at the grocery store. (Click here to check out her blog, River’s World…it’s hilarious). I looked for it when I went to the store and just had to get a bottle. There were several different ones using different kinds of liquor, but when I saw Habanero on this one, I was sold. I will most likely be using it this week when I smoke some pork steaks or grill chicken…or both. I will report back on it in a future blog.
PARTING SHOT
I’ve been able to coax Summer Girl to come sit on my lap a few times this past week. She’s been reluctant to jump up there, probably because she’s not a spring chicken anymore. Or maybe it’s because she knows I’m going to be taking her picture, and she wants none of it.
Join me every Wednesday (barring any unforeseen circumstances) for more from the Southerner in the Northwest.
Southerner in the Northwest 
I hope your happy! I am so hot I can’t even put my eyebrows on.
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Yikes! I’m completely comfortable.
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