Memorial Day Weekend

In Alaska Memorial Day weekend is the traditional planting weekend. Usually it is a mixed bag of weather but this summer has been AMAZING weather wise. Hot and sunny with a cool day every week or so. Yes I am talking relatively here, 75 degrees is hot for us. April 15 we still had snow but by May 1st we had leaves, 10 days early. Everything is popping out early mayday trees are blooming 2 weeks early, our apple tree is starting to bloom, currants in full funky green bloom and the mosquitoes are light this year (knock on wood).

The entire weekend was just amazingly beautiful and productive. We weeded, planted and weeded some more. Thankfully the ladies (chickens) eat all the weeds we can drag over, then we compost their waste and eventually put it back on the garden. I like that cycle! We got our potatoes in, kale is in, bok choy is ready to eat, peas are up, broccoli is in, green cauliflower and onions are getting set out. I need to plant the carrots, parsnips, fennel, green beans and pole beans still but I have all week, kind of like a bonus, because I like to consider June 1 my cut off for planting. So I have some planting left and some weeding out beds left but all in all we got a good start on a huge job. I also have 2 cantankerous rose bushes to trim down but really I may not even bother until later when I have recovered from starting from seed, growing and planting 1500 freaking lovely plants and vegetables.

We are celebrating birthdays this week too. My oldest turned 16 earlier this year and I was sick so we set a day to take him and friends to a concert last Saturday. The concert was cancelled so we took the boys to Anchorage for the day we fed them and movied them and fed them. They are pretty easy beasts to please.

It's also my birthday this week while the teenagers went to see Star Trek hubby and I went to see Angels and Demons. The entire time I sat there thinking "wow did I really ever read this book?" The movie was good I just don't remember reading the book, although I swear I did. Of course that may have been in that hazy period when I had a 13 year old, a 2 year old and a newborn!

I went to make smoothies tonight and my husband said "WAIT!!" and grabs my present out of the truck. Apparently he decided now was THE time to give me my present. I "had" to open it right? Two days early is fine by me. So I got the best present I have ever(at least since Christmas when I got my sweet mac laptop)received. I was completely caught off guard....check it out









Is that not the BEST present?? I have a lot of cooking to do this week which you will get to read about later in the week and he thought this might help. I love my husband! So I am off to figure out how this bad boy works.

Quickly though I did make this beautiful arrangement of a summer salad and I wanted to share. Enjoy!

Summer Salad
2 beefsteak tomatoes sliced in rounds
1 cucumber sliced in rounds
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
tablespoon of olive oil
kosher salt to taste
cracked pepper to taste

arrange the tomato and cucumbers slices in a low bowl or on a platter
drizzle the oil then the vinegar over the slices
add salt and pepper
refrigerate at least one hour-you can skip this but the flavors all meld really well in the fridge




10 pm the sun is just starting to set

reflection in our window

crazy early daylilys

mayday tree at 10 pm
apple blossoms

funky green currant blossoms


peace and love,