This and That: A Blog

 First some of the garden things. Lemon Thyme The strawberries are blooming.  My two varieties grew into each other, so I don't know which is which.  One is a June bearer, the other is ever-bearing. Perennial Candytuft  One of my favorites, Blue-Eyed Grass. My only patch of tulips.  I like interior of the red ones.  There used to be only red and yellow, so the orange must be a hybrid of the two.  I've never known that to happen, but it sure looks like it. This is one big borage at sunrise. The bumblebees like the borage.  This is a yellow-faced bumblebee.  One of the Breeder's Mix hardy geraniums I grew from seed years ago.  Some non-garden things.  I was inordinately happy to find matching treats at Trader Joe's!  Mickey isn't a big fan, he prefers the sweetness of my yogurt pretzels.  The people version isn't all that good, other than the pretzels, strange bunch of stuff.  Mickey and I went to the park yesterday. We...

November 2025's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day  The usual November suspects are blooming.  I thought with the weather being unseasonably warm there might be more,  but comparing to last year, no, the same bunch. Swam River Daisy, Wild Basil (not a basil), Borage California Poppies, Black-Eyed Susans  Abelia, Creeping Winter Savory, Prostrate Rosemary, Alyssum  Calendulas, Blanketflowers, Black-Eyed Susans  These are all in my backyard.  In the front are more blanketflowers, gaura, knautia, a few dianthus, and Autumn Tryst iris.  I have a head cold, and didn't want to go out front.  I went out back to supervise Mickey, so took these others yesterday.

 I was given a butternut squash, which I turned into a "pumpkin" pie.  Did you know canned pumpkin isn't really pumpkin?   The USDA allows canned pumpkin to include any strain of squash from the Cucurbita genus that resembles pumpkin in flavor, color, and texture.  "Pumpkin" is actually just a cultural and culinary label, not botanical.   Mickey is the only dog I've had that didn't like pumpkin, others would eat raw pieces.  He also dislikes carrots.  It's not pretty, but pies don't need to be!  Yes, it's a homemade crust.  If it's one thing I've learned over the many years of crust making it's this, always use Crisco, never a store brand. The last Salad Bush cucumber became snail or slug food. They come and eat a little more each night.  Honeybees enjoy the prostrate rosemary... while a Common Checkered skipper prefers the black-eyed Susans. Borage is having another generation before the frost, which comes in October.  No...