Late Summer 2021 {Recap}

 Lets see, what all happened last summer... I honestly can't think of anything crazy that happened. We finished up with the gardening and canning, like normal, but other than that and a few random pictures here and there, that's about all. 

My aunt and uncle got a camper and utilized that most of the summer. LaVaughn and I went out and visited them a few different times, but never stayed the night or anything. It seemed like every time they went it was like 100 degrees, so we ended up sitting inside the camper the entire time. 

I'm gonna let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Enjoy!

We had SO many cucumbers last year, including lemon cucumbers. I wanted to grow them to bad, but they're so not worth the time IMO.

I was obsessed with this Snapchat filter last year. Also liked to burn trash in the wee hours of the morning.

We canned a lot of lemon cucumbers too. Their skin is too thick for canning.

This is one of two Praying Manti that I harassed.

Praying Mantis with attitude.

Salsa canning process.

This is giving Stars Hallow house for some reason.

Eggplants that I grew last year (and didn't really eat).

Endless supply of lemon cucumbers.

A successful season of canning. Look at all those canning jars!

One of my long sweet peppers that didn't produce until like October.

This guy didn't even ripen up. 

Still pretty, though.

Idk why so many pics of this guy.

This is one of two avocado trees that I successfully grew for like almost a year.

The died in late spring/early summer of this year.

It was sad.

Always trying to find a living thing to photograph.

The literal fruit of my labor.

Only 15 months late...

 Wow, I have no words. I really don't know what happens to be when I just decide to up and stop blogging without a word. It's usually due to my overactive mind and anxiety, like 98% of the time. Then once I start overthinking and worrying blogging is the last thing on my mind. I know I've covered this in numerous posts, but it's still true today. 

I can't express how much I love blogging, so I don't know why I can't just take a step back, reassess and then continue blogging a week or two later. Instead I wait months or year. *insert eye roll*

So... I have literally no idea where to begin. I mean, over a year has passed so a lot has happened. I mean, a lot of the same, really. I'm going to try and backtrack without looking at photos to see if anything big sticks out. The most recent thing would be a photoshoot that I did last week. I'm sure I've talked about Shawna and her little brother, Levi, before. I used to work with her at the store in Des Arc - I've known her and her family for over 6 years. She messaged me a couple weeks ago and asked if I would do Levi's senior pictures, of course I said yes. Even though Shawna and I kinda had a falling out not long after I left that job. That's for another post, though. We're still civil and talk, but things are just different not. 

Anyways, so I did his pictures last week. I'll dedicate a post to that before too long. As soon as I opened my blogger dashboard today I saw that I had a draft post from July 14th of last year. It was a COVID vaccine update, so I went ahead and posted it. I read over it first - nothing huge, just the update. 

I don't really want to go over everything in this post, because I want to create dedicated posts with photos, so I'll probably stop here and go write up some drafts. I have to go through photos first... lots and lots of photos. I also forgot what website I used to watermark my photos, that sucks. I'm sure I'll be able to find it again. Maybe I even have it watermarked. 

I guess that's all for now. If I stick to this, I'll probably have an influx of posts in the coming days. Until next time!

A Day of Many Birthdays (2nd Pfizer Shot Update)

It's so strange to me how many people in my family have a birthday today. My daddy's heavenly birthday, my birth mama's, my cousin Ceara, My uncle Donald's and another distant cousin on my great grandpa's side. That's a lot! I think I'm missing someone, but I can't be too sure. 

I can't believe how little I've blogged lately. I've wanted to, but every day that I'm not at work, I'm busy. The heat has been unbearable lately, so the only time it's safe to go outside is at sunset, so I can't really take any pics. I did manage to get some pictures yesterday, but they were all taken before 3PM if you can believe it. 

Oh, I almost forgot. LaVaughn and I got our second Pfizer shot Monday evening as well. I wasn't half as nervous this time, thank God. Don't get me wrong, I was still very nervous, but since the first shot went okay, I was hoping and praying this would be the same. LaVaughn and I both were incredibly tired Monday night and last night, like so much so that I couldn't keep my eyes open an hour before I normally go to bed, which is incredibly unusual for me. I wasn't as sleepy last night, but I was still very fatigued.

I feel better today, but there's still a little something there. Did I mention in my last Pfizer shot post that I got 'Covid Arm'? Well I did, lol. It's more common with the Moderna vaccine, but there's a chance with the Pfizer too, it's just extremely rare... go figure. It was a pretty decent sized knot and an almost perfectly round red circle that itched terribly. It only lasted a few days, but it was annoying af. So far so good with this one. It was really, really sore yesterday, but seems to be subsiding today. 

Hopefully that's all that will happen with this second dose, fingers crossed. With the Delta variant going around it makes me even more happy to have my shot. I'm so terrified of catching Covid and giving it to my aunt or brother. I'm just hoping and praying that this vaccine protects me and those around me from it and its variants.

I guess that's all for now. I do a have a few pics to share from yesterday, but it's nothing special.

Some of the many, many cucumbers.

Baby bell peppers.

Tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, banana peppers and zucchini.

Home grown potatoes.

Small onion bulbs.

Two of my precious pepper plants that are taking forever to get strong - almost there!

And lastly, tomatoes ripening in the window.

Garden Update (4th of July Edition)

Happy 4th of July everyone!

It feels like it's been ages since I've talked about the garden. A lot of that has to do with me not taking any photos of the garden, which is my own doing because it's usually too hot in the evenings to even worry about. There's lots going on, lots of blooming and some new sprouts. Forgive me if I've talked about this in a previous post, but I did recently plant 20+ yellow watermelon seeds. Well, not recently cause I don't remember exactly when I did and if I'm being honest I'm posting this blog super late and just backdating.

Anyways, we have LOADS of tomatoes growing, but only some of the orange cherry tomatoes actually ripening up. We also have lots of different pepper varieties that are ripe for the picking and even eggplants! Yes, those tiny little plants that I rescued from Rozier's are finally getting eggplants on them, which is super exciting. Not sure how I'm gonna cook them or if I even like them anymore, but I'm excited none the less.

Our okra plants are also getting HUGE! Like I wasn't expecting them to be this tall and have such a thick stalk, but they really do look awesome. I'm not sure when they'll start getting okra, but it should be any day now.

I took all these pics Friday and then went for a walk later that evening and took several photos after I was done. It was really hot and I was kind of rushing, but I didn't manage to get a few decent photos I think. It's been so long since I've just walked around the yard and taken photos. I can't wait until the weather cools off some and I'm able to do that daily. 

Aside from gardening and photo taking, we've also started canning. We've already got several zucchini and cucumbers, so canning is a must. We plants a literal wall of cucumber and an almost equal amount of zucchini. Canned zucchini are the absolute best, at least to me, lol.

Well, it is the 4th and there's lots of BBQ to be made, so I'm going to stop for now. I hope everyone has a happy and save holiday!

Some canning aesthetic for your enjoyment. 

The pepper plant that I've been babying for months now, lol.

Two of the eggplants!! I'm SO proud of them, lol.

Kinda awkward angle, but at least you can see them.

Eggplant blossoms are beautiful - there's also a tiny bug if you want to view it large.

The beautifully blossomed cabbage.

Corn stalks.

One of the giant okra leaves.

Delicious banana peppers.

These are giant marconi. They're supposed to eventually turn red.

Orange cherry tomatoes - delish!

Several green tomatoes.

More tomato sprouts.

And tiny tomato hairs.

Some beautiful Queen Anne's Lace overlooking the lake.

I know Queen Anne's Lace is a weed, but they're a stunning weed.

Yes, this is two beetles mating.

I really wish they weren't mating because they're so beautiful, but I couldn't waste the photo-op.

I get real close to these Chrysochus Auratus beetles, aka Dogbane beetles.

Last closeup of the iridescent bettles.

An old wooden gate up the road from us.

Of course, I found a spider.

Sickening spiders.

I'm not sure if this is an ant or not, but I love this macro picture of this bug in a flower.

More Queen Anne's Lace.

More Dogbane beetles mating.

I swear it's only cause they're beautiful, lol.

Purple weeds.

And lastly, our nations flag. Happy Birthday, America!