P(r)esto!

 From the vantage point of my upstairs office, window open and overlooking the garden, I've come to recognize the sounds of quite a few visitors.  The raucous whistles and chatter of blue jays, the sleepy hum of bees, and, daily, the officious buzz of hummingbirds.

They are territorial and frequently annoyed with trespassers.  Many times I've been sideswiped by one while working outside, letting me know that they could oust me, if they really wanted to.

The high, 5-note twitter of goldfinches is something that I hear all day long.  

A telephone line runs over the garden, and goldfinches perch there, giving me the evil eye, if I'm out there working.  They wait until I leave, and then swoop!

They chatter and eat sunflower seeds for hours at a time. They have company, too.  Catbirds, phoebes, and finches are all found in and around the garden, every day.

They are there for the seeds, but also the insects.  See all of the gnats hovering above this young bird? It's a feast!

I'm so glad that I didn't give up on this late garden.

Claudia enjoys the company...

...and rewards me by keeping the garden rabbit-free.

In other news...the barn addition is complete!

Todd is doing some last-minute putty-ing...and puttering...before boxes are stacked on shelves, and my third is freed up for garden space.

The views from this space are quite nice.  The back pond, with wild black-eyed susans in full bloom and reflecting on the water...

The barnyard (soon to include chickens), and the fields beyond.

Blue skies overhead.

I'm excited to start spending more time out here!  

Bringing the 'outside in' is a way of life for me, and I'm not just talking about flowers.  I've grown massive amounts of basil, which I love.  I picked several bunches yesterday...

 ...and made a quick pesto...just garlic, basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I boiled green beans and diced potatoes and stirred the pesto in.  Add a little red wine vinegar, salted pepitas (or sunflower seeds), and parmesan, and you've got a great fresh-garden meal!  Here is the recipe.  The pesto smell lingered all day long...ahhhhhh.  If you've got an excess of basil at this time of year, I highly recommend it!  I'll be making and freezing more soon.

Have a great week!

cat bath fever

We're right in the middle of a pretty rough heat wave...temperatures in the 90s, no rain for over a week.  I'm hoping that it's SLG, or "summer's last gasp," because I see a definitely cool-down ahead as we slip into September.  Somehow, though, despite complete neglect and spotty watering, the garden seems to be thriving.

Cosmos are still opening up, and all sorts of new varieties, too.

More beauties:

It's wild and exuberant, and I love it.

Veggies are thriving...

...and the garden is feeding others, too.

I'm still filling the house with flowers...

...as Claudia allows.  When I go outside, she wants attention.  More than anything, she wants into my lap...and her claws are SHARP.

She's still bringing home the bacon (this bird survived somehow!)...

...and I'm seeing other wildlife, but sometimes just a quick shot through my upstairs office window, because it's too hot for outdoors exploring right now.

Projects are finally getting finished inside.  The fireplace that I'd conceived the first week we moved in has finally been built.   

It's a simple wooden column built around our gas fireplace.  Those doors hide our T.V. and annoying wires.  A basic oak mantle was built to complete it.

I just can't stress how much of an improvement this is.  The hardware color matches the living room wall sconce on the right, and the handles are identical to our kitchen handles, just in a different color.  It's very cohesive.  I really struggled with this house when we contemplated buying it, because it was so bland.  We liked the location, the acreage, the long front porch, and the way the house was laid out spatially, but it was a basic box. It's these finishing touches that make it feel like it's finally taking on some personality.  It's simple, but this fireplace just anchors the room, and despite the fact that we added something big to an already-crowded small living room, the clean lines and simplicity actually make it seem less cluttered.  Too hard to tell from this cell phone picture, but it works.

I'm very pleased!  In other news, lots of baking this week.  Brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts...

...and cinnamon rolls.

I haven't baked in a while, so it felt good to get some flour on my hands.  

We did have some kitten drama this week.  Somehow Tabitha got tangled up in the sticky fly paper column that I'd set out for the fungal gnats.  Glue.  Cat fur.  Mess.

She suffered through a warm bath and an oil rubdown, but nothing worked.  In the end, I had to pull out the scissors.

I'm sure it will grow back soon.  Bosewichte watched the proceedings from a safe distance...

Thankfully everyone has recovered from the trauma.

Hopefully the next few days will be a little more peaceful.  Have a great week!