Lughnassad

Spring has come and gone. The frost slipped away as the face of the sun showed itself more and more. It has been an unusually rainy season. I have stepped away a bit from gardening/farming and did not put any Tomato plants in until the end of June. I am sure that by August they will have caught up. I honestly don't really like eating tomatoes unless they are freshly picked.
The rest of the garden has outdone itself once again. Lupine and Peony surrounded by Lady's Bedstraw so that the entire cutting garden looks like a bouquet of grand proportions. The black raspberries are now well established and this year there are more than ever. The red raspberries are starting to come on fast and strong. It's almost as if they ripen as I watch. We have had a fair share of sun too and this weather has been perfect for berries. This year we even had a bounty of what I call Fairy Berries. These are Alpine strawberries that have naturalized throughout the back garden. For years there were wild strawberries that have gotten so well established and perhaps intermingled with the strawberries that I had planted and now there are berries about the half the size of a pea. The flavour is intensely strawberry with a slight citrus tone. It's fairy food and I have eaten of it and now I shall never crave mortal food again! As the wheel turns towards Lughnassad I celebrate the bounty of gifts that she gives us. Oh I almost forgot - there are two tomato plants that have volunteered themselves right in the compost pile and seem very happy there indeed. I wonder what type they will be? What great and glorious gifts the mother brings. My heartfelt thanks to the green world for all that it gives!!