officially summer

Today it got up to 86, but it sure felt hotter than that because it was so muggy!  For the first time this season we turned on the air conditioning - I'm not sure why, but we always feel good about not turning it on!  it's nice to have the windows open, I think.  It's one of those things we just didn't do as much in the city, and something we love about this house - big windows that we can throw open and not feel like the whole world is looking in, and no hearing every person or car on the street like back in the city!  it's cool!  Even when it's hot out, we spend so much time outside now - it's so different!

It seems like everyone I know with a garden is pretty happy so far this season, so I can't really gloat much, but my tiny garden with 8 tomato plants is really looking great!  (Helen, you can show Fred this picture and tell him he may have me this year, but next year, I'm expanding the garden, and it'll be ON! haha! )

Even the cherry tomatoes seem huge!

I didn't plant a lot this year because frankly, i felt like I didn't put my all into the garden in the past couple years and I didn't want to assume that I just magically change my ways.  However, I honestly think that a lot of my lack of excitement had to do with where we were - and feeling like I just had no privacy and therefore not really loving being outside.  It always felt like a chore.  Here it doesn't!  So next year I'll let myself expand (assuming my spirits aren't dashed by deer eating everything when it gets really dry!)

We have 2 apple trees - I don't know the variety - but they're putting on little apples.  We didn't spray them for pests this spring so I don't know if we'll get anything that isn't all eaten up or not.  It sure would be cool to make apple sauce, and apple pies, and spiced apples....
Our neighbor has a big orchard on his property and another up the road on some other land he owns - we watch him spray and treat his trees, so we'll have to pick his brain on what we ought to do.

We also have about 26 black walnut trees and they're getting walnuts!  I'm a little unsure how I'm going to deal with walnuts from 26 trees!  We'll see how it goes.  The neighbor's dad, who recently died, was super into nuts (he was a nut nut) and they have more walnut trees than we do.  Another thing to pick his brain about!

Here's the walnut grove:

My new favorite kind of tree is a chestnut.  We have one in the front yard and it's just the coolest looking tree - a neat shape, cool leaves, and really interesting catkins that then form the spikey coverings for the nuts.  I guess they aren't very "nut-like" nuts - I've never had a chestnut, but I'm already looking up what to do with them.  I feel like I'm going to be spending a lot of time wearing gloves and dealing with nuts this fall!