Fabulous first day of summer

Lake Padden, summer solstice 2014

What a beautiful day! This morning, early, I woke to sunshine and birdsong and headed over to Lake Padden to join the Fairhaven walking group. I took this picture on our second time around the lake. Afterwards, I went to the Farmers' Market to get some greens that will help to fill in what I am gathering from the garden. Yesterday I brought in lots of lettuce, sugar snap peas, early beets, and strawberries. I notice that the next crop of beets that I planted last week have germinated and are beginning to show themselves.

My garden this morning

My area is the one with the green watering can. I just went out to get a picture so you can admire all that is coming up in there. In about the middle of the garden are some orange and yellow nasturtiums, with lots of borage. I don't need or want all of the borage, but the bees are just plentiful around those blue blossoms, so for now I'll leave them alone. Behind the watering can, the arugula and kohlrabi are going strong.

Broccoli just about ready to harvest

See those cut branches underneath the broccoli? Well, just this week I learned that broccoli leaves are not only edible, but they have as much or more nutrition than the florets! When I buy broccoli in the store, there are only a few small leaves, which makes me wonder what happens to the rest. They taste a lot like collards, but are sweeter and have a hint of broccoli taste. They are simply yummy!

View from my front porch

Moving around to the front of my apartment, you can see my front porch view to the east. Although it's a bit washed out, that's Mt. Baker in the distance. Remember when they cut all the branches off the maple trees in the front yard? You can see that new leaves are indeed coming out, so I expect by the end of summer these trees won't look nearly so stripped and naked. I never knew they would grow back, and so quickly, too.

Leo and his toys

And last but not least, yesterday Leo came to play with me in the coffee shop. He sometimes arrives in a grumpy mood and doesn't want to visit with anybody, but yesterday he came over to show me his latest toys. Every one has a name and a story, which I was fortunate to learn. I treasure every minute I get to spend with him. It's nice to have a friend who is five, and smart, too. He teaches me a lot.

Well, that's it for my first day of summer. Last night I finished watching the new season of "Orange Is the New Black," and I wasn't disappointed at all, except that I must wait a YEAR to see any more of my favorite characters. There are pros and cons to having an entire series released at once, and I cannot seem to parcel them out slowly. I can watch them again later, though. Netflix knows what they're doing. Have a great first day of summer! I hope your day is a really good one, too.
:-)