A stroll in the yard and the sweet smell of honeysuckle

 With windows open on these cool late-spring days, the intoxicatingly sweet smell of honeysuckle has wafted in on the breeze, filling the house with its aromatic scent.

 Roses and peonies are blooming, adding to the sweet fragrances in the yard.

 The rain gauge bench aka the resting bench while working in the yard.

Time for a bonfire to burn piled-up brush in the fire pit.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
June 5, 2013

In the garden: First jalapeno

The first jalapeno. They were planted three weeks later than usual due to a long cold spring.

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
June 5, 2013

Garden flowers

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
June 5, 2013

Sunflowers in the garden

Sunflower against the blue Virginia sky

Photo by SWAC Girl
Lynn Mitchell
September 4, 2009

Mr. McGregor's garden, Peter Rabbit, and SWAC Husband's garden

I grew up on Beatrix Potter tales and especially loved Peter Rabbit. As a small child, I sat wide-eyed listening to my mother read about all the characters that Miss Potter brought to life in the miniature children's books full of colorful illustrations. My imagination worked overtime as I heard the opening lines of the Peter Rabbit story:

ONCE upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.

I would get lost in all things Beatrix Potter. While Peter's sisters were good and went hunting blackberries, Peter went straight to Mr. McGregor's garden where he had been warned to stay away from, and got into all kinds of mischief. The illustration that stands out to me the most of Miss Potter's drawings is the one of Peter slipping under the fence (above).

Yesterday, the story of Peter Rabbit's trials and tribulations in Mr. McGregor's garden came back to me.

SWAC Husband had put up a wire fence around the garden, as he does each year, to prevent as many critters as possible from partaking of the goodies growing there. It is impossible to keep everything out ... but it helps to limit some of the wildlife we have here in western Augusta County.

When SWAC Husband went out to look over the garden yesterday, a baby rabbit was sitting squarely in the middle of the squash plants. Well ... he used to be a baby and was able to easily slip in and out of the wire fence ... but he is about half grown now. When SWAC Husband gave chase, the bunny took off for the fence and got stuck, squirming to make his hind quarters squeeze through before making his escape.

And that was where the tale of Peter Rabbit popped into my brain. I laughed and called SWAC Husband "Mr. McGregor" all afternoon because he had chased Peter out of the garden and, if that bunny had been wearing a blue jacket, as Peter did in the fairy tale, its buttons would have been caught on the wire fence and the jacket surely would have been left behind.

Perhaps that is why I so enjoyed the charming movie, "Miss Potter," the story of Beatrix Potter's life that intertwined the creatures around her as animated figments of her imagination. Miss Potter's world was brought to life in the biographical film.

Peter, that naughty rabbit, in my garden helping himself to the squash ... I smile even as I think of it....

Summer, gardens, casts, & other things....

Summer ... and the living is easy. Other than the week in early June with temps near 100 degrees, it has been pleasantly seasonal throughout the Valley. The past week has seen thunderstorms rolling through with some badly-needed rain for the parched yards and gardens. The 4th of July parade and cookouts were fantastic ... the rain worked around events ... and it was great to spend time with friends, family, and neighbors....

Speaking of gardens ... the veggies in ours have started coming in. Over the weekend we grilled Yukon Gold potatoes, onions, and green peppers along with store-bought baby carrots. The first of the crooked-neck yellow squash and onions was yummy ... I'm waiting for more of those to be ready to pick. The cherry tomatoes are ripening but none of the large tomates are ready quite yet, and banana peppers have been coming in for a week now. It all makes for goooood eating!


A friend bought and started pumpkin seeds and passed them on so we can plant the seedlings in our garden which has more room than in his yard. His two kids will enjoy the pumpkins that will come out of that crop, and I will have seasonal decorations for the Fall....

The Cheese Shop was in our plans yesterday as my sister and I made our way to Stuarts Draft. She was looking for fresh spices and nuts to take back to Richmond, and that's the place to go for reasonably-priced fresh products. We stopped at a local produce stand so she could get some tomatoes to take home since mine weren't ready yet....

Green Valley Book Fair is going on so we hit it on Saturday. SWAC Niece found another stack of books to read because she had finished all the ones she bought last time they were here. Her pet sitting money had been saved for just such a purchase.

We headed to the Dayton Farmers Market for pretzels and lunch. It was busy with holiday visitors who stopped by to check it out and eat lunch. The large soft pretzels were, as usual, superb. An Amish horse and buggy outside Bridgewater was heading to somewhere important....


Best wishes go out to Trixie Averill, RPV's Western Vice Chairwoman, who broke her foot last week while on vacation. She traveled for hundreds of miles ... and then broke her foot far away from home. Ouch. Unfamiliar doctors suggested bed rest and no driving but anyone who knows Trixie knows she can't stay in bed or stop driving in her busy lifestyle promoting her GOP candidates. Hope you're sprinting in a marathon again soon, Trix!

SWAC Son and Nate are on a road trip to the beach this week. The Marine and the computer guy ... two home schooled grads who grew up together through their teen years ... one degreeing in computer science at JMU ... one attending VMI while serving in the Marine Reserve and spending a year in Iraq. Their work schedules worked out so they could both get away at the same time....

It has been extremely blustery today which made the upper 80s feel much cooler and comfortable. Thunderstorms have rumbled in the distance ... no significant rain here yet but we're hoping. SWAC Daughter has gone to the Staunton Braves baseball game with friends ... and they have plans to stop by Kline's Ice Cream afterwards if they don't get rained out. There's always something to do in and around Staunton.

It's summer in the Valley....

First ripe tomato from the garden....

The tomato plant called 4th of July that I found at Milmont Nursery this spring has produced even earlier than promised! SWAC Husband found the first ripe tomato late this afternoon ... and for Shenandoah Valley standards that's pretty darn early.

First day of summer ... first ripe tomato. That's one we'll remember.