Stop and Smell the Zinnias

The garden is so colorful at this time of year. A profusion of orange cosmos covers a five-foot area, makes a sharp right turn at the fence, and continues down several more feet before tapering off in a bed of almost-blooming marigolds.

Cosmos make fabulous bouquets. I've been combining them with dill and queen anne's lace in mason jars all over the house. The dill makes the air delightfully spicy.

Next to another patch of cosmos, my phlox is blooming nicely. I've got lavender...

...and white. Bees and butterflies love it!

My rose of sharon bush is ready to burst into blossom. The flowers are big, floppy, and ungainly, but I do like these tidy little conical blossoms that cover the bush every morning.

The queen anne's lace is glorious...

...and my russian sage is drawing bees from all over the city!

Even my oriental lilies have bloomed. I like to cut off the blossom heads and place them in tiny, three-inch vases. I've got them scattered all over the house, too.

Of course, I have my zinnia hedges, which by now are nearly 8 feet long and four feet wide. They're so easy to grow and each year I plow up more and more yard for them. Someday they'll have a very important place in my cottage garden!

It's easy to give them a quick glance and take pleasure in the beautiful flowers, just as they are.

Each one is so unique.

But sometimes, I like to get a little closer. The other day, I brought out a garden mat and burrowed into one of the hedges. The sun was out and the bees hummed steadily. It was very pleasant, and I felt perfectly happy there, waiting and watching. At first I just saw the insects on top of the flowers, like this honey bee.

But I waited patiently, and soon my eyes adjusted to a smaller world. Before long, I saw a tiny crab spider in one of the zinnia blossoms. Crab spiders don't build webs, although they can spin thin "drop lines" to help them move from flower to flower. They prefer to lie in wait and ambush insects that visit the flower for pollen.

What at first I thought was a discolored petal moved and became a shield bug. Shield bugs, so named for their distinctive shape, are common in gardens. They are plant feeders, and release a noxious odor when handled. I made sure to give him plenty of space.

Little gnats and flies soon returned to the zinnia leaves all around my head. Each one is so unique and interesting, but I despair of ever learning their identities. There are so many of them.

To my surprise, I saw several small praying mantises motionless beneath flower heads. Despite all the mantises that left the oothecas this spring, I have only seen one or two full-grown ones in the yard, and I thought they'd been picked off by birds. But no, they're just experts at not being seen. Like the crab spiders, they wait patiently for an insect to visit the flower, and then pounce.

Two flies found this zinnia stalk a perfect place to mate.

This fly has the most beautifully patterned eyes! Amazing!

I stayed outside for about an hour. The little creatures became used to me and crept out of their hiding spaces, and I watched them scurry about. What a nice, peaceful way to spend a morning!

Inside, things are a little more sedate.

I finished a knitting project recently, a cardigan for a friend's daughter. It's Kate Davies' Mini Manu and I learned several new techniques...

...such as pleating. Kate has an adult version of this cardigan that I might cast on for someday!

I decided to embroider some tiny flowers below the pleats, to match the vintage buttons I found. Pretty cute!

A few weeks ago, I bought some clearance bakeware at JoAnn Fabrics. I normally don't like to bake with this rubbery material, but you couldn't beat the price. So, I became the proud owner of a mini loaf pan.

I knew just the recipe for its maiden voyage!

Lemon Fruit Yogurt Loaf
From Smitten Kitchen
Makes 4 loaves

1 1/2 cups white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup yogurt - vanilla or plain
1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup fruit (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.)
1/3 cup lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease your mini loaf pan. Sift your flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt, 1 cup of sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil. Gradually add the flour mixture to this wet mixture, and then mix in the fruit. If you're concerned about your fruit being untidy and discoloring the batter, you can always mix it with a little flour before folding it carefully into the batter.

Pour into mini loaf pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until golden.

YUM.

You're not done yet! Mix the remaining tablespoon of sugar with the lemon juice and warm until sugar has dissolved. Once your loaves have rested for about 10 minutes, poke some holes in their tops and drizzle the sugar/lemon juice mixture over them.

These are so moist and delicious...probably one of the best dessert breads I've ever had. The nice thing about these mini loaves, too, is that they're easy to tie up with fabric and give to friends.


I hope you'll give some away soon. Have a great week!

Volunteer Cheer

Volunteerism is good. Everybody says so!

Even the cats are infected with it. Tabitha has volunteered to keep our love seat nice and warm for us, in case we'd like to use it when she's done.

Bosewichte, similarly, has volunteered to share our bed to add some warmth and softness to our evenings. He doesn't seem to notice that it's still over 80 degrees at night!


These tomato plant volunteers are popping up everywhere in this hot weather. Even though I've pulled several from my zinnia beds, they keep coming up.

It seems like I find more of them every day! At the beginning of the wave, I plowed up a patch of ground in a dusty back corner and replanted 24 volunteers. But they keep coming!

I've got lettuce coming up everywhere, too!

Queen Anne's Lace is definitely a volunteer in the yard, but I let it grow in some places. I love how beautiful it is...

...and how it attracts all sorts of interesting butterflies and insects, like this small black beetle.

In particular I let them grow by my lilies and achillea. I think they all go together nicely!

I've got many other things growing in that same patch. Many years ago, a gardening acquaintance volunteered to give me several clippings from her yard. I planted all sorts of things and happily, they come back every year, like this nice patch of false dragonhead.

These double lilies are from her yard, which I love because they're beautiful...

...and because they shelter all sorts of interesting insects!

A small female squirrel volunteered her services while I was working at my outdoor potting bench.

She was very interested in my work.

She came closer and closer...

...and closer...

...until she touched my foot before darting away! It reminded me of the Native American custom of "counting coup", where a warrior comes up stealthily behind an enemy and touches him with a stick or his hand before fleeing without having inflicted injury. It was simply a show of bravery. And this was one brave squirrel!

Volunteerism isn't restricted to the garden (and my helpful cats). A month or so ago, I found an abandoned robin's nest in wonderful shape. To kill any mites or parasites, I placed it in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for three weeks. Then, I thawed it out and doused it several times in Lysol.

Once it was definitely parasite-free, I filled it with hand-painted ceramic eggs...

...and placed it in a .99 candy dish from Goodwill. This normally isn't my style, but I needed another accent for the upstairs bedroom I was decorating and this fit in nicely. It sat in the darkened room for a week before I noticed...the volunteer.

Despite 3 weeks in the freezer and several Lysol baths, and a near-dark environment...my nest sprouted.

A tiny seedling grew out from between the twigs. It was unbelievable! It looked a bit like a morning glory seedling to me. It worked so hard to live that I almost dug out the root to replant it, but I'm forever pulling up morning glory seedlings and I'd never forgive myself for actually planting one in a moment of weakness. But it really was an amazing sight.

Besides knitting a few top-secret projects, I've been playing with my rubber stamps. Since Todd is nearing the end of his dissertation days, I made him an Advent-like calendar that counted down the days until the dissertation was done, complete with the silly, "The tassel is worth the hassle" slogan at the top.

Each day is a card that is opened...

...to reveal an inspirational quote.

Todd is working so hard and I'm incredibly proud of him!

I got in some new banner rubber stamps so I used one to make a card for my nephew's birthday. It was really fun! I am definitely a rubber stamp addict.

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, and we didn't have anything special planned because of Todd's dissertation push. I couldn't let it go by without some kind of culinary acknowledgement, though! I found a recipe that was just perfect for what I wanted - a little sweet treat that could easily be thrown together with things that were already in the pantry. Cupcakes for two! A sweet bite at the end of our all-American cheeseburger meal. :) Best of all...everything is made in one bowl.

Cupcakes For Two
From "How Sweet It Is"

Cupcakes
1 egg white
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup white flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Frosting (my own basic recipe)
1 - 2 ounces of neufchatel cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
3 - 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar. Stir in your butter and vanilla and combine. Then add your flour, baking powder, and salt and mix together. Finally, add milk and stir until smooth. This mixture should fill 2 greased cupcake receptacles in your tin. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Cool.

This makes two delicious cupcakes!

To frost, beat all ingredients together. It's really simple! I made a mistake with yesterday's batch...I was in a hurry so I added some milk to speed up the process. Big mistake. It was definitely too runny. I didn't really mind, but when I tried adding food coloring (how much red do you have to add before your icing isn't pink?!?) and actually icing the cupcakes, I had to admit that it was a true decorating failure and not much like the red, white, and blue cupcakes I'd imagined.

It doesn't matter...they were still delicious!

In the name of...research...I made a second batch and gave the icing more time to come together without milk. It was perfect!

I hope you try it the next time you want a sweet nibble. Have a great week!