summer is flying by...

David's parents were in town last weekend. They brought with them a bushel of peaches from South Carolina, so we got to do some canning - - peach butter and cold packed peach halves. Also, they got us a Weber Grill as a garden warming present! The new grill has been so much fun!
The garden is full of growth - the ginormous sunflower in the middle of the garden is by far my favorite!
and my addiction to spinning continues... I got some roving from Hobbledehoy's etsy shop. It is spinning into beautiful yarn.
hope you are staying cool this summer!

spinning

I have found a new (highly addictive) hobby...
This book was incredibly helpful in figuring out techniques. I also watched several YouTube videos. I can't believe how easy it is to spin yarn. No kidding! I just got the spindle and book last weekend and I already have a skein of yarn.
The yarn became a bit frizzy during the finishing process. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to correct this? We are thinking that I may have brought the water to a boil too quickly.
So, as soon as I finish the cardigan (that I've been working on for a looooong time...see below), I plan to knit something fun with my first skein of handspun yarn!

summertime bliss...

strawberry sundaes, fried green tomatoes, an abundance of peppers, the first tomatoes turn red, the perennial flowers refuse to be shown up by the annuals, and let the preserving begin...

yes, please...
david is experimenting with ferments this year...
lots of growth...

echinacea...
hungarian wax...
evening...
about to be fried...
okra is finally making an appearance...
the first of the roma tomatoes are turning red...

Poison Ivy, Round 2

Back in the beginning of May, I got a nasty poison ivy rash on my arms and neck. We were down in SC at the time, so I assumed I had run into the poison ivy while helping my dad prune the plum tree in my parents' yard. However, we didn't see any poison ivy around. The mystery was revealed when Rebecca and I got back home and saw the unwelcome leaves-of-three mixed in with another, innocuous, ivy. I got suited-up in long sleeves and rubber gloves and pulled out as much of the poison ivy as I could. I filled up four trash bags with the stuff that day.

More recently, I've been noticing the poison ivy re-emerging, mostly around the edges of our garden. It climbs our cinder block wall in the back and becomes one with the chain link fence. It also created a long root network running through the gravel. This morning I went out for the second round of poison ivy clearing. I only filled two bags this time around, but I got some of the larger roots pulled out. Hopefully that will slow its next inevitable assault.