Basil Harvest

I harvested a basil today from a plant that was out of control and the size of a shrub.  This is one of my favorite plants because it's not only pretty but it's yummy.  And it self seeds all over my little garden so there are always a lot of little basil surprises in the spring.

Hops Harvest

We grew our first hops plants this year and today we harvested them. It's a pretty plant, fast growing and great for shade.  Not to mention that if you brew your own beer you get the added bonus of having your own hops...

William's Antique Nature Guides

Last weekend when we had a routine Sunday night dinner at a friend's house, out of the blue he gave me this little set of antique nature guides. I love books and wildflowers and have a small but growing collection of antique wildflower books. So for me, this is a spectacular combination and an incredibly lovely set of books.  

Many of the flower names have changed but all my old favorites are in there and I love perusing the small picture plates.The copyrights range from 1909 to 1915 and inside each cover is a little handwritten inscription indicating that these were a graduation gift to William N. Gahr from his brother Edmond W. Gahr in 1929.  It made me wonder what William was graduating from and why he might have been given these particular books.   

I googled William N. Gahr and what's strange is that the friend who gave me the books said that he received them from his brother who lives in D.C.  The only William N. Gahr that comes up in google was born in 1910, died in 1978 and was a WWII veteran.  And he's buried in Denver, which is where I am and where I received the books.  It's a mystery as to how William's books ended up in D.C. more than 30 years after he died.

It's strange too how I somehow have his books now and they have come full circle.  But I love them and plan to keep them forever.  I hope William would approve.

Peanut Growing Update!

Exciting things are happening with our peanut plants!  I'm glad I didn't read up on growing peanuts earlier or I wouldn't have been so pleasantly surprised at what's happening with our peanut plants right now.  Apparently, once the plant flowers, it sends a little part of the flower down into the soil to make a peanut.  You can see the little purple stems growing downward from the spent flower.  Eventually they'll reach the soil and grown down into it an inch or two and make a peanut.  

I'm a little concerned that our growing season might be a little too short as they require 4-5 months of heat but it's a fun garden experiment in any case.  And strangely, we planted 3 plants.  One in a container and two in the ground.  Our container plant is doing the best- it's thriving and beautiful.  

Stay tuned for further updates in the fall....

Spain in Black & White

Just a few more shots from Spain.  I shot these on my vintage Felica camera on 120 film.  It's got some light leaks, but it's one of my favorite cameras.

Happy Weekend!

Andrea

I love photographing street lamps.  I may have mentioned this before.

Gaudi's House

Rental bikes that saved our lives in the heat.

Waiting for Spiderman to show up here.