Tomatoes in July

life_in_maine_tomato_julyThe summer in Maine has very little margin for error for growing tomatoes. A cool summer can leave us with a lot of unripened green fruit by the end of the season. We did pick a few of our first tomatoes this week, but many of our plants are still in bloom. Click on the image for a larger view. (While tomato flowers attract the usual pollinators you except to see, we were surprised to see our hummingbirds feeding from them.)

Virginia Spiderwort

edible_weeds_spiderwortVirginia Spiderwort, Tradescantia virginians, is found throughout the eastern US. The leaves, young shoots, and flowers are edible—raw or cooked. Native Americans ground the leaves into a poultice for insect bites. Our garden has this plant growing wild with blue, pink, and the rarer white blossoms.

Not all spiderworts are edible, there are about 75 species. Some are toxic for cats or dogs. Click on the image for a larger view.

Wildlife is (not) cute…

life_in_maine_seal_pupWildlife looks cute, like this harbor seal pup, but they will not think of you as cute. Marine mammals are found along the coast of Maine. If you think an animal is injured or abandoned, call Maine Marine Animal Reporting Hotline at 1-800-532-9551. Do not approach the animal or try to handle it—not only is it illegal to handle marine mammals, but also they will bite. Appearances can be deceiving; mothers can leave their pups on a beach for up to 24 hours. Click on the image for a larger view.

Dreaming of Summer

The snows this winter have been taking their toll. We have had over twice the average snowfall so far this year. It is hard to remember our garden being anything but white.life_in_maine_dreaming_of_summerThis is not a small pumpkin, but one of our heirloom tomatoes. We still have tomatoes in our freezer from last summer, but bringing in one of these fruit straight from the vine is very different—the rich smell and the sun-warmed flesh can only be experienced in the summer. A thick slice on a piece of freshly baked bread with a little ground pepper makes the perfect meal. Click on the image for a larger view.

 

A Message from Hakusan Creation

white_mountains_bw_cloudNaomi and I want to thank all our visitors to our site for coming so regularly. This year seems to be shaping up to be an exciting one for us. We hope to announce a few publishing projects in the coming months as well as a few projects we would like to publish through our site.

For a little over a year, we have been posting five times a week. It has been fun, if not challenging. But because of our publishing projects and a desire to keep our posts as fresh and interesting as possible, we will be cutting back a bit to three posts a week.

As always, if you would like to see this photograph taken in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire a little larger, click on the image.