Yesterday was one of those comfy days. After reading your comments I was feeling well and cared for and worked all day in a little blog cuddle bubble. Daisy gave 36 pounds of milk in the morning and 26 in the afternoon. The weather was mild and the weeds pulled easily. 
The Tall Teenager found a frog in the pigsty, hiding under their filthy paddling pool and afraid that the big pigs would eat it (after our discussion about them being omnivores) he caught it and we released it into the frog garden where there is a pond under the path. 
Everything grows well in this little self watering garden but all the frogs disappeared in the heatwave.
I started some watermelon rind pickle. 
The recipe is here – foodblogandthedog. Natalie also has a beautiful feta and watermelon salad. I would like to say that these are my own watermelons but the plants have died, as have most of the zuchinni. So John came home with fruit from the store the other day. And miserably I think all my cucumbers are going to die next. Just too hot and too dry in those back gardens. But I am still trying very hard to grow the majority of what we eat. Soon we will be living off tomatoes!
Of course the zuchinni we just keep reseeding in a different spot in the hopes of it out running the bad bug and the drought. These butternut squash are doing well though but did you see that bug. They are my nemisis. 
I needed some heavy lifting help at The Old Codgers yesterday and so I took the Tall Teenager with me for the first time and out of the blue there was a little miracle. They struck up a friendship. Talking model battleships. These connections often jump generations. So tomorrow the young man is going to bike over to visit the old man (seven miles) with some of his models and visit again. How wonderful is THAT! 
Good morning. All the garden shots are tight because there are big gaps in the gardens now from the unusual number of plants that have died in the heat and dry. I cannot water every garden every day. However so far we are managing to feed ourselves. And we are much better off than many. After all I made strawberry ice cream yesterday with the last of the strawberry preserves. Every time I make ice cream I hide a tub of it in the big freezer for winter treats.
You all have a lovely day. I am going into the hives today to see about harvesting some honey as last years last jar was scraped clean a week ago.
celi
PS Here is what was happening on the farmy on this date last year. Housing the captured swarm. bees move house. We are much further along this summer. Last year we had piles of rain.
The Kitchen's Garden 
71 responses to “Little miracles”
All the plants in your self-watering garden look happy and healthy. Gorgeous tomatoes. We are lacking rain big time also, hope we get a good soaking real soon.
I’m confused… both links in your post refer back to (your) last years blog. I was curious about the watermelon rind pickle. We have a sweet version here – lovely gooey spicey syrup with chunks of crispy rind – yummy jam 🙂
The Farmy rubbing off on the Tall Teenager – saving frogs and clicking with Dale, fantastic! Hoping some rain comes along soon to resuscitate your veggies. Laura
Mercy, thank you laura for picking that up, i have gone back in and fixed it. That is what happens when you create pages with your eyes still shut!! Oops.. ..thank you again c
🙂 🙂
Looks like the farmy is nourishing everyone in the way they need it – more than just veggies growing there. Lovely post
I saw a recipe in one of my books the other day for a fresh yoghurt cheese called labna from the Middle East if Daisy is feeling super productive! 😉
It’s so hard watching those water-loving plants shrivel and die. Daisy is the liquid producer supreme. Pity you couldn’t water the garden with milk!
Wonderful intergenerational connection between the teen and old codger. Magic happens around you and because of you. May the rain fall soon.
Well, those tomatoes are looking great. I need to pickle some things this summer!
other than yourself i hope! c
I’m so proud of your teenager, his boundless youthful energy will invigorate the Old Codger, I expect! I’m so sorry to read that you still have a drought.. and bugs! Nasty things.. is there an old remedy, like some “soap” solution that would get rid of these things?? Love those pickles.. I saw them the other day and thought they might be lovely in some sort of drink… xo Smidge
62 pounds of milk a day!!?? Oh my Daisy…that is just crazy.
It is always amazing and comforting to me how much generations can have in common. And mmmmmm….strawberry ice cream!
The weather has not been friendly to gardens this year.