THANKS FOR THE DRINK

I haven't seen deer around the house for ages. Then the other day two males visited the water butt for a drink.

It prompted me to set up the infra red camera to see if anyone else was visiting.

The deer come around several times a day and the camera captured a pecking order among them. A young male was on his way over to the water when he veered away. In comes a larger male with a bigger rack. They hang around together but the leader gets first dibs.

Then there is the pair of foxes. Round several times a night.

So there are raccoons around here. This is the first one I have ever seen. He's probably the one who was eating my cantaloupes. Grrh!! It's fun to see what wildlife shares this piece of land with us.

OH DEER

Yesterday one of the deer showed up with a broken leg. Life is going to be pretty tough from now on.

She got a special treat or two yesterday.

I certainly hope it isn't this one which I captured giving her baby a bath a few days ago. I am fearful that our injured deer was nursing and maybe lost her baby in some terrible event. It is quite clear that our injured deer was nursing as her milk sacs are very swollen with milk. Poor thing.

BOUNTY FROM THE GARDEN

Today I picked the last of the beets from the garden. They were a second crop planted some time in March and I wasn't even sure if they would produce that late in the season. Now I wish I had put in more rows. We love pickled beets. You know what will be on the table tonight; beet tops with roasted beets. Tomatoes are in abundance and I am managing to keep down the numbers of leaf footed bugs by giving them the creep and grab treatment. These will probably be the last of the patty pans as the plants are going into a serious decline......and not due to the squash vine borer but the heat and humidity.

The Italian romas are all going to be roasted and frozen for use in the winter.

I have two kinds of yellow tomato. The first is the yellow pear which I picked up at Garden a Go Go at Diana's house. I can't remember who gave it to me but thank you anyway. It has been a great producer. Maybe I will be serving some them next Saturday for Garden a GoGo at my house!

The second I have no idea. It produces medium sized round fruit which have a strange translucent look; not terribly attractive. They are quite tasty although the heat is causing the skins to become a little tough. I probably would not grow this one again- even if I knew its name.

Either way it all makes for a great insalata caprese.

Or stuffed squash with beet tops/beets.

Yesterday I pulled out all the garlic and it is drying out on the gravel. Not the greatest crop but enough to keep us going for a few weeks. I think the garlic is better suited to sandier soils and mine might be too heavy. So the beds will mostly lay dormant until later in the year when the fall/winter crop will go in.

These are the reason we garden behind walls. Mama and baby eye me through the cedars. There is also another mama with twins.

This lone deer is a regular visitor behind the back garden. Always looking for a handout.

"Green tomatoes, red tomatoes, tomatoes with blossom end rot, beans, beet stalks..... I don't care. Just send them my way. I'll compost them for you"

Otherwise I'll just have to eat agave!