Catching Up

Yesterday's comings and goings were a little less hectic than Monday, but I'm still getting caught up on busy work things. My first task yesterday was to churn some strawberry ice cream. All the component parts were made, and so I turned on the ice cream machine, and let her rip.

After about 15 minutes of churning, I added in the strawberries.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm...

When it was approximately soft serve consistency, I put it in a container and then popped it into the freezer.

We had it for dessert last night, and oh my. It's no wonder I'm willing to cut all the seeds off those strawberries because this is seriously good ice cream. I'm using the recipe from Cook's Illustrated which, thankfully, someone posted right here.

With that done, my next most urgent task was to plant the sunflowers. Some of the earliest ones have grown tall, leggy, and spindly. This year, I'm trying an experiment of growing them fairly close together in two of the whiskey barrels where things haven't done much. This first one is around the back side of the house. It gets full sun in the afternoon. In the center is the next batch of poppies.

It was a hot and windy day yesterday. I worried that the wind would blow them over, and so I staked them loosely to give them a fighting chance. Around the front of the house, the rest are planted in the whiskey barrel near the front door. There are some bulb flowers growing here, but they only come up in the spring and then die back. If the sunflowers make a go of it here, it might work out year after year. This one gets full sunshine at mid-day.

That takes care of almost all the sunflowers. There were a few planted later that will get put into the ground this weekend. We're kind of between blooming things right now. The day lilies and the echinacea will be next to bloom. For now, the sage is in bloom. Sage blossoms are edible and good in salads.

Also, the lavender is in bloom, and you know this means just one thing: Bees Knees cocktails. There are lots of recipes for Bees Knees, but this is the one we use. When the lavender is finished blooming, I'll collect the blossoms and dry them for next year's lavender syrup.

Also, the little rose bush has been allowed to bloom. It's very fragrant. One might say this is the upside to having coyotes around. They've kept the deer away from the roses.

Back inside, it was time for some sewing. I had just one block to finish before adding it to the third row of the quilt top.

When I laid it on the floor for its picture, Smitty walked across to make sure there were no loose chickens.

He was testing its napping capabilities when I disturbed him for this picture.

Sadie is still appalled at how the squirrels are being allowed to roam free outside with no cats to harass them. It's a crying shame, and she is thoroughly fed up.

By the end of my sewing day, I had all the blocks sewn together. Now, just the border is left. I should have time to finish it off today. I really like those random wonky stars in the sashing. They were so simple to do, and those could be used in any quilt.

After that it was time to pick up our CSA share and try to wrap my head around what should be done with things like kohlrabi and collards. I have ideas for both.

This morning, my first task was to strain the strawberries out of the infused vodka and bottle it up again. It's resting easy in the refrigerator now. Pretty, huh?

Today's tasks include a trip to the grocery store and getting a start on the laundry. When that's all done, I'll get back to the Chicken Buffet quilt. Things should settle down a little after today. Still no word from Coyote Man. I'm hoping he'll get out here in the next day or two. I heard the coyotes howling in the middle of the night...close by...and then again this morning from down in our woods. I'm almost certain they are living there.