And speaking of my garden...

Although the big news around Oregon for the last week has been the scorching temperatures (it's supposed to break an all-time record today at 107 degrees), it has been pretty darn miserable and I'd much rather share some pictures of what's been growing here at Critter Farm.

Let's start with the berries, shall we?
Fruit-wise, it's been a really good year here. The raspberries are outdoing themselves:

Aren't they lovely? We actually have more than we know what to do with. Last year, they ripened in waves - this year, it seems, they've all become ripe at once. It's been crazy:

And, then, the blueberries. My personal favorites:

We're having an absolutely incredible blueberry season:

Sparrow has been helping me pick them. Or, rather, I pick them and she eats the ones I accidentally drop:

Dottie at least waits for me to offer them to her:

This full bowl came from just 1 1/2 bushes....3.8 pounds!:

I love making blueberry sundaes with frozen plain yogurt (available now at Trader Joe's) and blueberry sauce. The combination of sour and sweet is heavenly. P.S. I really love whipped cream:

In my vegetable garden, the lemon cucumbers are ripening:

The lilac peppers are still fairly small, but the color is turning:

Some green bush beans are ready to be picked:

As are the purple beans:

I got a handful yesterday:

My third batch of peas is almost ripe. These are Alderman shelling peas:

The edamame (soy beans) are taking longer than I thought they would. There's still not much in the way of flowering going on:

Have I mentioned lately how much I love having a strong son around the farm? I appreciate his help so much. (That top bag did ultimately fall off, by the way):

I'm getting a lot of beautiful crookneck squash:

I love to lightly saute' them with garlic. They are wonderfully sweet:

Look at this little guy, he looks like a caterpillar, doesn't he? Silly cuke:

What to do with this motley crew?...

Slice 'em up:

and make pickles!:

Despite the heat, I ventured out to the garden this afternoon to see if anything wanted to come back inside with me. Today's harvest: 1 "Round Light of Tuscany" squash, 3 yellow crookneck squash, and 3 Boston pickling cukes:

I've been watching this volunteer sunflower since it first sprouted. This is it yesterday morning:

Here's that same sunflower tonight. Gorgeous:

Now see? You could hardly tell we are all melting in Oregon right now, right?