Bee-utiful Summer!

I just know that you've been dying to know what we've been up to here in the Landenburger household! 
Well, hold your hats, cause I'm gonna tell ya! 

We had a bumper crop of baby birds raised in the yard (or the back 40, as I call it). 8 species in total!!

True story: The violet green swallows nested in our nesting box for the first time, and they must have been youngsters themselves, because they only had one chick. Well, you can imagine that that chick was stuffed full of all of the amazing variety of mosquitoes and other flying goodies from the yard and across the street in the Chugach State Park... so much so that...

He GOT STUCK!!!

I kid you not! He spent an entire day wedged in the opening, trying to get out. Naturally, his parents continued to stuff him chock full of more insects, which I am certain didn't help the situation one bit. The next morning he was gone, flown the coop so to speak :) S/he and her parents are winging their way to southern California, where my son will see them arrive, soon.  If he sees an amazing pudge shaped missile flop by, we'll all know who it is!!! ;0

Speaking of The Kid, he is doing well as a production engineer and making chain mail in his spare time. It's fun to talk to him about patterns and making, especially as he is working in 'hard' materials and I mostly work in soft (sometimes in the head, admittedly!) Thanks for askin'! It's so nice when they get old enough that you can tone down on the worry and stand back and do more admiring :)

I'm still working away on the Being Charming is a Plus charity quilt... I want the quilting to be so good that the recipients will love it, and so that it will last forever. 

This is Anita's version. Don't you LOVE it?!! 

We have two varieties of bees in the garden. Native Bumble bees, and imported honey bees. The native bumble bees, come in three sizes... Very small and round and cute, Medium sized and red-rumped, and truly Ginormous!!! Bumble Bumble Bumble!! I admit to quoting from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, fairly frequently when I see them... Bumbles Bounce!! They never seem to mind:) 

The neighbors, however, think I'm crazy.

Have you tried licorice mint? It tastes just like licorice!! Fun!!

My lavendar is blooming, and they just love it! They also love the blooms on the licorice mint, I wonder what it is about the purple that attracts them so?

My Carnolian bees have filled the entire bottom of the hive with honey, and have filled and capped half of each of four smaller frames... in two weeks I am going to steal their honey away... don't tell them! 
For now, they are going crazy over my cilantro, which is blooming, and the going to seed arugula. I wonder if the honey will taste faintly of herbs?? The cilantro flowers taste just like cilantro, and are so pretty on a plate, and the arugula is very peppery!! I'll let you know how it tastes this Fall, when it starts to rain, and I have a yen for some honey on scones or popovers. I wish you could come and try it with me!!! You just stop on by, anytime!

It's the time of year to be canning and putting away. I've been a tad bit jealous of all of the raspberry delights I've seen folks making over on IG... next year I am Definitely putting in raspberry bushes!!! How did that get away from me? You keep me to it, you hear?

Crow berries in Arctic Valley. They throng the earth in the Quintillions. They taste of Spring; high and light and sweet.

I've filled one section of the freezer with kale from our containers, and I'll keep cutting and freezing it until I can't stand it anymore. Then a moose will wander by and eat it, and save me from the Kale Reign of Terror. Honestly!! EVERY YEAR!! What was I thinking??? It never ENDS. KALE KALE KALE!!!

But later this winter, when I am making kale and chorizo bean soup, I'll be mightily glad of the bounty. I'll smile, and yum, while I eat my steaming bowl of hearty goodness and gaze out upon the white winter vistas. Complacent that I am warm inside, while it is blustering and cold, out there.

It's only once in a Blue Moon that you get a summer like this!! Testing out my
camera skillz...

I hope you are having a lovely summer!!! What has been your most cherished moment? Ours has been spending Slow time together. Such a treat!!

The Blue Moon over Flat Top, behind the house. It was One in the 
morning, and that moon had it bright as day, outside :)

XX!

Lori

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