GARDEN UPDATE AND A HAT

     Today we kiss July 2011 goodbye.  It's definitely hot here in northern California - 94 degrees today.  Not the "Heat Dome" that Letterman talks about that is hovering over the eastern part of the state, but definitely a normal summer day.  The Giants have been in Cincinnati for three games where it is very hot and humid - I'm going to blame the weather for their three losses and not poor pitching or playing.  I'm sure they'll all be happy to be back in San Francisco tonight.  They can only get better tomorrow.  I was a little late getting out into the garden to take pictures and pick a "few" and had to take several water breaks.  It didn't help having a big yellow dog panting behind me where ever I went.  However, I managed some pictures that show the growth and color of our flowers and vegetable plants.


This monster is about 12 inches long, and according to our Master Gardener, D.   It is a young Blue Hubbard Squash. It has a twin growing a few feet away, and who knows what's lurking under the leaves.

We were surprised by these peppers because their seedling tag said Bell Peppers which are growing on a plant nearby.  I was worried they would be hot, but after testing a small bite, I found they are sweet and delicious.  I would say they are Banana Peppers.  I love their color.

These vines are reaching farther than we have fence and wires.  I looked for Scarlet Runner Bean seeds, but couldn't find them.  These, however, are similar but will have a variety of colors, all edible, of course.   Jack and the Beanstalk, anyone?



No grasshoppers and plenty of water - my marigolds are thriving.  Their leaves are green
although they look blue in the photo.  I love to see their bright colors every morning from my kitchen window.

ROSES SMELL DE VINE. 

I thought I was watching the buds on this rose bush, but I was surprised to see today two were completely open and a small bud is on it's way.  D bought this rose bush at Walmart where they were selling end of the season plants.  It was pretty sad, but he gave it a sunny spot, fertilizer, and plenty of water.  It's a climbing bush so he painstakingly put together wire paths for it to follow.  I'll show it again after it has climbed up the wall.

 


  
 
We've been given a few of these plants, I think they're Lillys, by a friend from Willows who works in landscaping.  Most are still in the pre-blooming stage, but this one has opened up beautifully in shades of yellow.

For those of you that have seen our back yard "before" when it was mostly dirt, here is how it looks now.  D cut back trees and shrubs (that had grown like trees) to let in the sunshine.  Then grass seed, fertilizer, water, and Mother Nature took over so we now have a lush green lawn.  It's the perfect place to roll on your back and get a good scratching, if you're one of our dogs.  So here is the "after".

     Now to the hat.  My knitting lately has been taking a lot of starts then stops.  I haven't been satisfied with the projects I've tried.  I'm getting tired of making hats and scarves and will venture into other areas for awhile.  However, I did finish a cute hat for a child or others that are childlike ...

The pattern designer called this Scoops, because the yarn balls reminded her of scoops of ice cream.  This is a good pattern for using up balls of knitting worsted left over from other projects.  It's knitted in the round ... I'm getting a little better.  The original has a large pom pom, but I finished off the top with a large button.  The pattern for this hat can be found here:  

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/scoops

Goodbye, July.  Hello, August.  See you in the funny papers.  Knit on. GG