summer wrap-up

Is it really nearing the end of August already? I guess it must be. My tomatoes are finally ripening and I have more cucumbers than I know what to do with. The blog has been neglected over the last month, but I have no apologies because I have been thoroughly enjoying the short summer that Michigan has to offer. Gardening, trips to the lake, floating in the water, fresh basil, fighting scourges of mosquitoes, this is what has filled my bits of free time.

Pepper plants are flourishing. We are picking pecks of them! I have never had such success with peppers before. I'm not sure what I did differently. I just bought these plants from the Farmers Market and they grew like gangbusters.

Banana Peppers that I will pickle. Know a good recipe?

Peas are my favorite summer garden vegetable. I eat them right off the vine, so very few of them actually make it to a plate.

 This yellow squash looks like a gourd. I bought the plant as a seedling from the kids next door for $0.25. They had a little red wagon full of vegetable seedlings and took it around the neighborhood. So cute.

My first red tomato! Always landmark day of summer for me.

And a delicious salad made with spoils from the garden. Fresh arugula, tomatoes, lettuce and some more fixins'.

Plenty of new items and deals are in the works with the Snapcrafty Shop. Good things are happening and ideas are maturing. I'll be excited to share them with you as they happen with much greater frequency here on the blog as the summer wraps up. I hope your summers have been relaxing and restorative!