I had in mind to do a bit of gardening today, but since it is hot, I’d need to do it early. Early came and went, and even the shady places I had planned to work with my little trowel were not shady enough. Typically our shady places are much cooler than in the full sun, but not this week.
So I just went out and wandered a little while eating a popsicle, and saw that dozens of pineapple guavas had dropped on the ground. That means that they are ripe. So I fetched a bowl from the kitchen and crawled around to gather them — four pounds!
The little squash in the photo above is the only and stunted kabocha that resulted from my first attempt. Next year maybe I will try them again, but in the front yard instead of butternuts. I brought in three of the latter whose stems were not green any longer. After I trimmed off the portions of the long squash vines that are not bearing fruits, I can see spaces into which to insert the starts of leafy greens that I’ve had in the greenhouse.
The fruits of the arbutus (Strawberry Tree) have also been falling for some time, but they usually are overripe before that happens. Right now the bush is covered with ripening fruits, flowers for next year, and pine needles that have fallen — currently including a whole stem of them — as they do on everything that grows on that side of the yard. If I were a terribly tidy sort of gardener I’d need to spend an hour every day picking off the needles of the constantly shedding Canary Island Pine.
I showed Bea how I eat the feijoas/pineapple guavas, and she and I stood around for awhile savoring these exotic gift of late summer. It’s 101 degrees as I type, and I’m thinking this fruit would be nice about now blended with coconut water and poured over ice…. But I’m headed to Vespers, so I’m glad to see that as to temperature, tomorrow promises to be a similar day in which to enjoy such a drink!
Now I’ll have Bob Marley’s great song “Guava Jelly” in my head the rest of the day. That’s not the worst thing that could happen! It’s interesting that the color of the succulent in your first photo and that of the guavas is nearly identical.
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Your garden looks lovely. I can’t believe it is still hot for you. I hope it cools down soon.
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As always, I enjoy seeing what your garden produces.
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A good crop indeed.
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Wandering through the garden while enjoying a popsicle sounds absolutely lovely!
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Are you having warmer-than-usual days, too, Lorrie?
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Yes, we are. I’m still harvesting zucchini and tomatoes. But the nights are beginning to cool.
Regarding the cauliflower soup – there is no recipe on my other blog. I sauteed onion, celery, and carrot for a few minutes in olive oil, then added a head of cut up cauliflower, and enough chicken broth to cover it. Simmer until soft. Puree. Add blue cheese (I used one triangle of Danish blue cheese). Next time I make it I’ll try and take a photo and write down what I did.
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Thank you!!
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It’s still so very hot out your way. Hopefully soon you’ll get a break from the heat. The pineapple guavas look interesting. I wonder what you’ll make with them.
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My cousin in Australia grows feijoas, too, and a neighbor kept trying to steal some (instead of asking!) but didn’t know that they had to drop to be ripe enough to eat.
Oh, and look at your Japanese anemone! Mine are pretty scrawny this year. I think it’s overcrowding and our weird season.
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