Memorial Day Weekend

Look what showed up this weekend

to visit the lemon verbena.

I think it's a Variable Checkerspot.

It does look the same as the photo

in my National Audubon Society's

Field Guide to California, so I'm

going to assume that 

Variable Checkerspot is the correct name.

 The first of the day lily blooms 

opened up this weekend.

Echinacea purpurea

 I purchased this last year at Dee's Gardens.

I haven't visited Dee's this season yet.

It's on my 'must do soon' list. 

  

 I froze the zest and juice from these lemons 

and limes.  That way I have the juice on hand

for when I need them.  If I keep them fresh,

they spoil before I can use them.

 I drilled drain holes in one of the chicken 

feeders I mentioned in a previous post.

They're both rusty, and not antiques

so I had no qualms turning one of

them into a planter.

This is my first time trying to grow 

succulents.  They like dry conditions,

so if I don't over~water them they should 

do just fine.

 We'll see.

That one very light green plant

really is that brilliant.

The camera had a hard time adjusting

to it's color.

I'm anxious to see how it grows

and fills in the empty spaces.

I love that it's time to start using 

herbs from the garden.

For lunch Saturday, 

I made an herb pasta using 

oregano, chives, parsley and garlic

chives from the garden.

That brown tomato is one 

of the best store bought tomatoes

I've ever tried.

It's a Kumato brown tomato from

Trader Joe's. If you have a chance

to try a Kumato tomato ~ please do.

Their flavor rivals that of homegrown 

tomatoes which won't be available 

for several more weeks.

For another meal I used my own fresh 

herb butter on store bought corn.

The corn wasn't the greatest,

but the herb butter made it special. 

Every year, 

the harvest from the cherry tree

is larger than the previous year.

I think the tree is about four years old now.

This year I picked enough to make a cherry pie,

and left some cherries on the tree for the birds.

Here it is still warm from the oven.

They cherries that were on the tree 

at noon time, were baked in a buttery 

  flaky crust and served for dessert that evening.

Our weekend included two 

trips to pick up compost/loam soil mix,

and a trip to the dump (woo hoo!) 

honestly just kidding...

the woo hoo part, not the trip to the dump.

I'm being snarky and teasing Rick

who actually said that going to the dump

was what every woman dreams of. 

He was kidding...  

um yeah, ~ I'm sure he was.

He has spent all three days 

of this weekend putting in 

a glass storm door that we 

special ordered a couple weeks ago.

We wanted a brown one, not white, 

thus the wait.

It's been one of those projects

where you find there's a lot more 

work to do than you expected.

It involved tearing out framing,

and redoing trim, adding shims,

and of course repainting the trim,

and waiting for paint to dry

on a damp day.

It's rained off and on all day.

Yeah!

So that was our Memorial Day weekend.

I'll attend Memorial Day services 

on Thursday which actually is Memorial Day.

This week is going to be busy,

so I may not be around for the rest of the week.

Take care and have a terrific week.