Where Gardens and Children Grow...

Isn't she beautiful? I can't believe I gave birth to such a pretty little girl.

The poppies this year are huge and gorgeous! These grow wild at the edge of my property (when they're not run over by a 4-wheeler).

Here she is again having fun this morning.

And here's big brother. He posed like this himself, my little ham! And no, that's not a bruise on his wrist. That's sidewalk chalk. Yes, he's right by the road, but we get little traffic and I was right there. He's not allowed near the road otherwise.

I love that I can go in my own backyard and pick good things to eat and season my food with. Tonight, I made Quick Salmon Croquettes with a Hollondaise sauce, seasoned rice, green beans with parsley and my home-canned plums with real whipped cream sweetened with my brother's home-made maple syrup. The salmon was seasoned with parsley and rosemary from my herb garden.

As a side note, I'm trying not to throw about perfectly good food. The croquettes were breaded with some artisan bread that dried up on it's own in my cabinet. I can't believe anyone would buy canned breadcrumbs at the store when breadcrumbs are free in our own homes! Also, I usually just drain canned seafood in the sink, but today it dawned on me that I'm throwing away a perfectly good base for a seafood chowder. Instead, I drained the canned salmon into a freezer bag and froze it. Now, every time I drain tuna or salmon or some other such seafood, I'll just add the liquid to the bag in the freezer until there's enough for a good seafood chowder!