Country Gardening and a Giveaway!

For years I dreamed about having a HUGE veggie garden.
Being a true country girl, I wanted to garden
and preserve my harvest for the long winter and
now here I am havesting...
zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers,
and lots of herbs!

Not really having a good plan on what to do with zucchini & squash, I began a recipe hunt.
I discovered the most awesome (if I do say so myself) zucchini bread recipe ever invented!
It is soooo wonderful I will share the recipe soon with you!
~*~
I have also harvested armfuls of summer squash. Hmm what do besides stir fry.
I found a delicious recipe for a summer squash casserole that is warm and filling and oh so yummy! I am going to share that one with you too!


The canteloupe and watermelon are plumping up nicely.
It has been fun to see how much they grow each day.

We have found that baby watermelons are just adorable,
quite like baby chickens!

Lots and Lots of tomatoes on the vine.
We have been able to have about a dozen nice ones to slice up for dinner.
We have 4 cherry tomato plants that are going wild!
So wild I can hardly get between the rows.
Totally out of control and I LOVE it!

My heirlooms are not quite ready,
I am growing Brandywine and another that is going to be PURPLE!
It is a Russian heirloom variety. Now that will be fun!

Later this week we will get to pick the green beans.
It has been so long, since I have had real, homegrown green beans.
Think I will whip up an old fashioned meatloaf to go along with them.

The cucumbers are coming along nicely,
(that sounds like something out of a 1940's garden journal doesn't it)
and I have been making refrigerator cucumber pickles.
We eat them as fast I can make them.

~REFRIGERATOR PICKLES~
3 nice size cucumbers peeled & sliced
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1 Cup Water

*Mix and put in the fridge, try not to eat for a couple of hours*

We were late getting the corn planted,
but it too is coming along nicely.
The locals have told us
that the deer and racoons will eat it all of it the night
before we decide to pick it.
Those craft devils...
we spotted deer tracks in the garden yesterday,

I guess the word is out that the corn is lookin' good!

My Basil is beautiful and I have started drying many herbs to use this winter.
So far I have dried tarragon, basil, and oregano to use in my homemade spaghetti sauce.
I have also dried rosemary which I put in an awesome Rosemary Rum Cake.

~*~

Speaking of summer and gardening!
I found a wonderful treasure to pass along to you!
It is the Summer Book by Susan Branch
So let us
Celebrate the Seasons with Hickory Hollow

To play along all you have to do is leave a little comment on this post!
Simple, isn't it!
In one week I will pick a name
and this little summer book will be all yours!

Now for a Maggie update!

Maggie has a new home...
It is a wonderful Victorian cottage home complete
with a white picket fence and rose covered arbor
and filled with all the very best things...
love, warmth and doggy treats!

One of my very best friends, Cheryl (Hi, Cheryl)
fell in love with Maggie and wanted to take her home.
Her and her husband, David, came and picked Maggie up last night.

The minute they stepped through the door,
Maggie went up to David and gave him doggy kisses,
and then turned to Cheryl and gave her lots of kisses!
I am so thankful she has found a good home with a fence in yard.

Cheryl's home is absolutely they CUTEST place you have ever seen.
Red toile wallpaper in the dining room, does that tell you anything?
Well, I asked Cheryl several months ago if I could take pictures of it for my blog, and she agreed. We were just waiting for the cottage garden to bloom.
So coming soon will be a tour of Miss Maggie's new home!

~*~
Lots going on here at Hickory Hollow
and lots to look forward to,
so make sure you come back to visit!
Remember to leave a comment
for the giveaway!
~Jill~