What did you do in the garden today?

[Grannys Backyard Chicks]

I’m with you @Sueby and @NewBoots. I like celery in lots of different dishes. Cold summer salads like potato salad and chicken salads. Then always use it along with carrots and onions for the aromatics in soups and stews. One of my favorite dishes is Cashew Chicken with onions, mushrooms and lots of celery. Very tasty.

Cashew Chicken sounds very tasty.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Hubby likes celery filled with cream cheese at Thanksgiving.

It's something I keep thinking I *should* eat more of, but end up forgetting it's there and then throwing out a limp slimy mess.

Yup, the crisper drawer in the fridge doesn't really keep things crisp for long, especially when you forget it's there. Out of sight out of mind.

 

[Grannys Backyard Chicks]

@Sally PB , I have a bottle of celery seed if I need celery flavor in something. The seeds don't get slimy. LOL

Last summer when my tomatoes were in their productive mode I put a lot of whole tomatoes in gallon bags, which I froze. I ended up with 7 gallons of whole tomatoes in the freezer.

I opened up the last bag today, so I'm going to need to preserve more tomatoes this year. I could've eaten a lot more tomatoes than I did over the winter but I wanted to make them last.

Because whole tomatoes take up a lot of space, I'm going to need to cook them before freezing, or start using my canner.

I have a lot more tomato plants to put in the garden this year, so I think I'll get enough to keep me happy next winter.

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Your tomato plants look great. I'm thinking like you and going to freeze or can more tomatoes this year.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Re: celery, I usually chop it up and freeze it, but I mostly use it in soup.

 

[Molpet]

The strings in celery can be strip out or peeled.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Indoors today, planting seeds in starter trays, hard boiling & pickling eggs. I'm off work today.

So here we go...Rain Again! Coming down rather heavy this morning. It started at 3am & we've got 3 days of it. Tuesday will be rough, they're calling it a red alert, with wind, hail & perhaps tornado warnings. It warmed up last night, as I was putting the tiller & mower away (yes we got a filter at Auto Zone on Easter Sunday & changed the oil yesterday, too). So I see the winds will shift, SE to NE, so when that colder air meets warm air, I get weather anxiety. 2 tornadoes 🌪 have blown right through here over the past few years & it is scary. All of this heavy rain & flooding are one thing, tornadoes are another.

On a positive note, the blueberry plants are looking gorgeous with blooms. If the wind & hail do not decimate them, it will be a bountiful blueberry year.


This little guy was outside my bedroom window, singing a sweet song. He & his mate are building a nest in a thick pine shrub. They're House sparrows. We have Purple Finches in this region, too, kinda hard to differentiate at 1st glance. (Forgive the window glare, I didn't want to disturb them just for the sake of an outside pic.)

In mythology and folklore, the house finch is often associated with love, happiness, and good luck. This bird has been a symbol of vitality and passion in various cultures around the world.

 

[Sueby]

I knew I couldn't be the only celery lover, lol! I wrap it in tin foil & it's last forever & doesn't go limp or slimy. My favorite way to eat it is chopped up in chicken or tuna salad - love the crunch. @Acre4Me I was thinking of growing it in with the lettuce that gets afternoon shade & will eventually get a shade cloth. No babies yet??

 

[Acre4Me]

Already received 1.25" of rain last night. Another 2" predicted by tomorrow afternoon, with the bulk of it tonight through tomorrow noon. Very wet, and no planted crops to help absorb the excess (we surrounded by farm fields and a few neighbors).

Temps drop after that, to around freezing at night with temps in the 40s for the daytime.

One more week until the total eclipse. Is it silly to be excited about the food trucks coming to the fairgrounds all weekend leading up to the eclipse? Bc that is where I plan to get my lunch Sat/Sun! Maybe Monday too, but I think it will depend on what the traffic status is like, will we have elevated traffic that day - I really don't know.

 

[Acre4Me]

No babies yet??

Not yet! We’ve been watching signs…mild ones so far. I’ve spent way too many days worried about a goat’s back end …but, tis the kidding season. The worst forecast weather is for this evening and tonight. So, in the goat code book, this is ideal to give birth due to weather extremes.

Maybe they will hold off for the eclipse!! We can name them things like “Sol” or “Luna” or other celestial sun/moon type names.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I knew I couldn't be the only celery lover, lol! I wrap it in tin foil & it's last forever & doesn't go limp or slimy. My favorite way to eat it is chopped up in chicken or tuna salad - love the crunch. @Acre4Me I was thinking of growing it in with the lettuce that gets afternoon shade & will eventually get a shade cloth. No babies yet??

Aha, tin foil! Thanks, I will do that. So many uses tin foil has! Protects your brain from those pesky mind reading Aliens, too.