Summer heat

It's hot, hot, hot today in the high 80's and climbing, they predict 90's for tomorrow. It's been constant watering of the garden to keep it in tip top shape. This has been the best summer we have had in several years I think, last year all I had for tomatoes at the end of summer was a ton of green ones that never ripened. This years lots of big green ones now, so they should have ripened nicely by the time it's time to make salsa. Here are the main tomato plants, one Sweet 1 Million, one Early Girl and one Jet Star. Yes, those are prayer flags hanging from the top bar, all those good thoughts are doing good things for my plants, along with my dedicated application of Miracle Gro for Tomatoes. Carrots are planted at the base of the bed, it's a old companion planting fact that Carrots Love Tomatoes.

The beans are humming along also, destined for the pickled bean canning extravaganza in the fall. They are planted by the door to my studio and have already reached the eves and are heading for the roof.

Our county is one of the biggest raspberry producers and the bushes are loaded this year so we went out to a U-Pick field and picked 5 buckets of berries. Using some of the blackberries I had picked and frozen last year I canned 20 jars of jam, I prefer my jam sugar free and when I make it myself and get all that wonderful fruit flavor without all the refined sugar.

Some more garden pictures.....one of my white dinnerplate Dahlia's, Fuchsia's and Dusty Miller.

Next Friday we head off to the Renaissance Faire south of Tacoma, so I will post the highlights and some pics of the debauchery. My best friend and I have full Renaissance garb, including the mandatory cleavage-boosting corset, we usually make our way into the Faire as soon as it opens in one outfit and stagger out a couple of hours later in a whole new one. They have so many vendors selling garb, jewelry and accessories its hard not to Shoppe Til Ye Droppe. The day usually goes something like this...

Early a.m.: Bloody Mary's for the pre-Faire attitude adjustment.

Late a.m.: Finishing purchases of new Faire wardrobe, usually involving a corset change and much cursing and sweating as we stuff our aging bodies into said corset.

Early Afternoon: Off to Ye Old Ale House for more attitude adjustment and singing of naughty medieval ditties, watching the joust and sword fighting and more shopping.

Late Afternoon: Stagger back to camper for dinner and discussion of all the cute Pirates (girl conversation) and sassy Wenches (boy conversation) we saw that day.

I have actually been trying to get some things done in the studio, but that pesky day job keeps taking up so much of my time! I did play with some calligraphy, after having taken a 2 hour class with Lisa Engelbrecht I came up with funky little "M".