We can't eat it all quick enough!

I just returned from a trip to South Florida with my mom. We went for my Uncle Al's funeral. Even though it was a sad trip, we made the best of it and it was great seeing family and learning more about my uncle...he was such a wonderful man and will be missed by so many.  It was a beautiful service! The drive wasn't too bad, so I will be going back in February to visit my Aunt Glenda (Aunt G - if you are reading this you'll love that I put it in writing!).  Also, it was wonderful getting to spend so much time with my mom.  She is wonderful and I love her so much (and she is freakin' hilarious!).

Upon my return, I discovered a plentiful garden...I'll give you a tour of what is going on.

One of the most exciting events to come home to is a ripe blueberry bush.  I ate most of them in the yard (I'll admit it), but here are a few that made it into the kitchen.

Squash, Melons, Pumpkins, Oh My!  Pictured below:  Butternut Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Summer Squash, Watermelon, and a Pumpkin.

Everything is growing beautifully.  I have my first little bell pepper, and I cannot wait for it to get big enough to pick.

I have roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes out the wazoo!  I used those (along with some of my green onions and fresh basil from my yard) combined with a few grocery store items to make Kevin some pasta salad.

This is the most current garden view taken today.

My corn is getting so tall!  I can't wait to put up some creamed corn...love it!

Tonight for dinner we had grilled chicken thighs (my new favorite thing to grill) with the zucchini and squash (I have a feeling that we'll be having that every night for dinner, it grows like crazy!) and some green beans from the garden.  I sautéed these with a little EVOO and some garlic...then I made a little balsamic glaze.  

So, you can see that we can barely keep up eating all this stuff.  I love our garden!


Other random milestones are my first canning of banana peppers (I barely had enough for one jar, ha!).

Also, our Crepe Myrtle is finally flowering!  I love summertime (even though it has been insanely hot outside)!

I also wanted to mention something I never knew until I became a backyard gardener.  When it comes to taste, the vegetables I've been buying in the store all these years do not hold a candle to the vegetables I've grown myself. My cucumbers taste amazing, the tomatoes are so delicious, and the blueberries were better than any I've ever tasted.  Maybe it is all in my mind, maybe it is because of my decision to garden organically, or maybe there is really something to gardening, but the taste of everything from my backyard is so flavorful.  Amen!