Daily Notes- July 21st

Map of where I live in relation to the open Ocean.

The star up at the top edge of the photo.

Takes 15 minutes for us to drive from the star to point B where my Master Gardener buddy lives.

Where we would go to water her garden when she is in Boston and pick rhubarb.

We used to go to the Ocean every Sunday when we first moved here. We were quite taken with the open water, the huge rocks and the vast nothing that is the Atlantic. No boats. No ships.

But that was much farther north of this illustration.

Here in the islands one can just walk into the Ocean. But we don't. 

We are both Fire Dogs in the Chinese Zodiac.

Perhaps that has something to do with it???

Today I am making refrigerator Pickles.  

They had Kirby cucumbers at the grocery but I didn't have my phone -

so I couldn't find out if Kirby cucumbers were good for pickling.  Until I got home.

Not all cucumbers can be pickled.

Kirby are good so I went back and bought some plus some dill.

My dill seedlings are still very very small.

And I noticed- while walking in the garden to pick blueberries- that one path

is littered with tiny cilantro plants that self seeded themselves.

I noticed because I walked on them and it was fragrant.

I like the smell.  Not the taste.

Still only male flowers on all the cucumbers and squash.

I have lids for my canning jars now.  Might have mentioned that yesterday.

Finished Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead (I enjoyed it very much)

Next up:  Red Head by the Side of The Road (Tyler) or Where Crawdad's Sing (second time). 

I think Redhead is going to be my pick. Crawdad's is longer and I want to take my time.