Farewell to summer.

My daughter reminded me that technically summer has two more weeks, but for teachers, summer ends when that first school bells rings.

So, since while you're reading this, I'll be meeting my new class for the first time, I thought I'd do a bit of a farewell to summer post.


Blueberries
This was the summer of blueberries. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't turn blue. But they're so healthy and so delicious.

I froze some and roasted them with some peaches for an end-of-summer treat.

Peaches
Discovery of the summer - roasted peaches in salad. You've heard alot about them in my various salads so I won't belabor it except to say this was the best salad yet - shredded honey mustard pork in a salad with roasted peaches and toasted sunflower seeds. I could eat nothing else for the rest of my life and be happy

Salads

I rediscovered my love of salad, mostly due to this little package. I gave them a try one day and WOW! It's such an interesting mix and even though I wash them, the pre-washed ones save so much on my least favorite part of salad-making - washing all the greens.



Writing
Oh, this has been the best summer I've ever had of writing. I didn't go anywhere, just stayed home and wrote every day. #sheer bliss No pictures of that. LOL

Nature

You all are always sharing such gorgeous pictures from where you live. I don't often have the chance to reciprocate given that I live in the city. But I've been noticing all the trouble people in my neighborhood have gone to in order to bring some of nature's pretty into a bleak cityscape. I've been photographing so I can share.

A few splashes of color.

It's hard to see, but most of these are succulents and they are thriving!

 

 

 These pictures fascinate me. The "garden" is outside the local bank. The day before I took these photos, I had a conversation with a woman who was picking the herbs to use them. There's basil, mint, rosemary, thyme. And something else that I couldn't identify.

I'd be a little wary of eating them since it's right in the middle of a street of parked cars and I know it was a favorite "watering spot" for local dogs before the plants arrived!

These corn plants come back each year - and yes, they actually grow ears of corn (though the raccoons and squirrels usually eat them).

These two are part of a program the city has created to prevent flooding from rain. The flowers are much bigger now than when I took this photo.

This garden of peppers tickles me. There is a man who sits outside our supermarket begging every day, all day. He pretty much camps out and chats with everyone. Apparently he also has a green thumb because he grew this garden of peppers in the tree pit outside the supermarket. He also had an amazing pit full of tomato plants, but someone tore them all out. :(



I always enjoy this song, so here's a sendoff.

Farewell summer of 2016. It's been fun! Summer of '69