This unseasonably hot weather is hard on peas but for now, they are just soaking up the sun. So sweet and crunchy!

Translucent flat peas climbing to the sky

Visit Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Scenic Weekends, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Outdoor Wednesday, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday, Garden Tuesday and Creative Weekends Friday at the Pink Home. Thanks for stopping by here, and be sure to browse around as long as you’re already here.

This is one of those things that you just don’t know until you grow something. When you have a grapevine, in the late spring it gets these cute little sprigs with tiny balls on them that you figure are tiny grapes. But no! They are grape flower buds, which open to nondescript, fluffy blossoms, and then soon are the real grapes, round as you’d expect. Cool, huh?

A grapevine blossoms, with red campion in the background

This post is linked to Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday, Garden Tuesday and Creative Weekends Friday at the Pink Home. Take a quick browse around here first, OK?

The sun was out! Our five-graft plum tree in the back is popping into bloom! This is its second year so we might get a plum or two. I love the idea of five different plums on one dwarf tree. Jars of jam, here I come!

Young plum tree opens white blossoms in the sunshine

Participating this week in My Romantic Home, Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Scenic Weekends, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Thursday Challenge (Spring), and Macro Monday. Thank you so much for stopping by here, and hope it’s Spring where you live. 

Every New Year’s Eve I cut up some vegetables for our after midnight snack, along with the crabmeat and cream cheese dip, with potato chips! Hey, the veggies cancel out the yummy fats, is how I think. Hope you had a wonderful celebration, and the luckiest year to you in 2013.

The carrots and broccoli are from our backyard!

Joining up at Water World Wednesday, Nature’s Footsteps Waters, Ruby Tuesday 2, and Macro Monday. If there’s only the one photo here, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above for the rest. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!

Winter in Seattle, so far north, can be challenging when the light is so reduced. But the good part of the low-angled sun is that when it actually is sunny, the light streams in the south windows and makes marvelous shadows. This is my kitchen counter the other day. I love this image and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week. Thanks for stopping by!

Participating in SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Shadow Shot Sunday 2, My Romantic Home, Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, and Ruby Tuesday 2.

If you’ve ever gone to Seattle’s iconic Pike Place Market in the fall, you know to visit the pepper sellers. Every year they create these little works  of art, some with their primary colors even brighter against blue tarps. They are so pretty! Each year I buy one and use the peppers all year in soups and stews. You can make a LOT of spicy stew with one of these babies.

Participating at Mellow Yellow Monday, Scenic Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Ruby Tuesday 2, Outdoor Wednesday and Macro Monday. If you see only the peppers photo below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above for all the others. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!

I read that knowing tomatoes are a fruit is intelligent, but knowing not to use them in fruit salad is wise. But when they are growing in your backyard, doesn’t the container of both of them look so pretty? And let me tell you, they BOTH are super sweet!

I’m joining up at My Romantic Home, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Macro Monday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday 2. Don’t forget to click on Sara’s Fave Photos above if there is only one photo below. And while you are here, perhaps browse in the My Garden category?

I saved the plastic container from the store-bought berries bought earlier and picked some real fresh fruit from our strawberry bed. Aren’t they just gorgeous? It’s funny, but sometimes the smallest ones are also the sweetest. Go figure.

Neat sites to visit, with links: Color Carnival, Ruby Tuesday 2, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Macro Monday. Check ’em out! And if you’ve arrived via a link and there is only the one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see more photos here.

Here’s some round food in some squarish bins. Photo fun at the Farmer’s Market yesterday!

This photo qualifies for SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Pink Saturday (those potato skins look awfully pink), Ruby Tuesday 2, Mellow Yellow Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. I sure miss that Color Carnival meme, as this would be a perfect entry. Anyone want to start that up again?

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I had forgotten that Swiss chard really is a biennial plant in the garden, and was disappointed last summer when the small plants I had grown from seed just didn’t do that much. But after a fairly mild winter with no really hard freezes, the plants are looking just fine. Dinner! I like to pick a good bunch, cut the stems from the leaf parts, roll up the leaves and slice in half inch ribbons. Then start steaming the cut-up stems first, add the leaves after a few minutes, and when picked fresh from your garden, they don’t take long to cook. You can cook up a nice white sauce with cheese melted into it to go over the steamed chard, or go the Italian way with chard added to garlic fried in olive oil, all mixed together on steamed red potatoes. So good.

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Ruby Tuesday 2 and Macro Monday, why don’t you? And if you enjoy the photos in this blog, please click the new follow widget to the right. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.!