June

June has arrived.  For the past few months, I have been working on another project, that took me away from this site.  But, now I am back to give you updates and great recipes for the summer.  

Earlier this month, I planted all my vegetables.  I started with the usual assortment of peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant, but increased the amount of each one.  Last year, I planted peas and green beans and really had a good harvest so I planted them again.  I can’t wait to make Italian Potato Salad and use the fresh beans or fresh peas in Pasta with Peas.  There is nothing like the taste of fresh picked vegetables.  

I doubled the amount of tomatoes this year because I wanted to be able to make tomato sauce and jar it for the winter.  I will keep you updated to see how that is going.  

Doesn’t this look like a beautiful, green, tranquil area of the yard.  There are birds that make there home in these arborvitae. They are tall and luscious.  When you come out into my back yard, this is the first thing you see.  They’re beautiful!!   I went out to do a final clean up before Memorial Day and I weeded under these tall beauties.  I saw some weed looking things and started pulling.  They were attached with vines along the ground.  I thought it was odd, because I never saw these ‘weeds’ there before.  

On Memorial Day, I woke up and saw that I had a small red mark on the inside of my arm near my elbow.  It must have been an irritation from the yard work that I did the day before.  As the day progressed, I saw the ‘irritation’ develop into a large rash.  What could it be?  I was never allergic to anything outside before.  Then someone said it looked like POISON IVY.  Poison ivy???  Where did I get that?  When I looked it up, it sounded exactly like the fines that I pulled, bundled together and held while I pulled more.   By the next morning, my arms were covered in red dots, blisters and enormous red blotches that were itchy and swollen.  So, off to the doctor I went with my ‘severe’ reaction to poison ivy as she stated.  A week later and a course of Prednisone and steroid cream and I am almost back to normal. 

As you can see, I haven’t been back there to plant flowers in the five pots.  I’ll get the courage up soon.

No matter what, Summer is still my favorite season.  Even with all the insects and heat, I love being outside in the pool or at the beach in the Summer.  I love going out each day and seeing another flower bloom.  Baseball games and badminton, I love it all. The sound of water moving is so relaxing.  Waves at the beach, swimming pool or a water feature, they all affect me the same way.  So, pull up a lounge chair and enjoy the Summer.