Time To Unwind

            Summer. This long-awaited season has come. Nice flowers, new leaves, branches, weeds. Everything grows, blooms, matures. 

The vegetables grow, the berries become juicy. So long I've waited for this wonderful time of the year. More sun, heat, resinous smell of pine trees, blue sky and the bird singing. Now the time comes to sit and unwind a bit. There is one cozy spot under two young maples with dense foliage that protects from rain and provides shade on a hot day.

I often put the small white table and chair and sit there in the shade of maple trees. Sometimes I take a bowl and gather some berries from the red currant bush, or a cup of tea with mint and lemon balm.

From my chair I can see another part of the garden with small gazebo. The path leads along two pergolas to the patio. Actinides, sweet pea and honeysuckle perfoliate grow on pergolas, sweet fragrance!

Here is more shade and in hot days I prefer to unwind in this gazebo. Relaxing here I can  take my 'Dell' or a book or knitting, which was lying since winter or just to lie back in a deck chair, take a nap under the leaves of Virginia creeper entwined around a wall. 

When September comes I'll have to do a lot of work preparing my garden for winter. 

Where do you unwind in your garden? Do you have your favourite spot there?

Stroll Along the River

            Yesterday fishermen took me in his company at the river. This river is small, at the widest point is about of 20 m and very close to our summer house. We went on foot, it was nice to walk through the woods.

The sun came out and everything was nice. Then weather became cloudy, and the rain was. I did not waste time and started taking pictures.

 There was a swamp near the river. The bog was big enough, but dry, we walked along the path one after another. 

When we passed through it I liked the reedmace (or cattails) . I remember as a child I gathered a lot of reedmace and put in a vase at home. But after 2-3 days it has become to fade, its beautiful brown head began to pour white fluff. It was so much that became very dirty in the house. Since then, I've never gathered reed mace. 

I liked the river. There were a lot of birds, even as I heard a beaver splashing in the water at that beach. But I couldn't take a picture, so he quickly dove into the water. 

 

At this place the river divides into small ducts and changes its stream. But here was the unexpected encounter! Right at me, the snake was swimming in the water, as if posing for the camera. 

 On the shore she quickly crept away through the grass into the bushes. I think it was a viper, it had stripes on the back and spots on the head. Generally I am afraid of snakes, but this appearance was so unexpected that I have no time to get scared.

From the other side of the river I found a small lake, it was very quiet. Trees and bushes were reflected in the calm water. Some water lilies, yellow, with large leaves were growing there.

  

Fishermen let go the fish in the river and were about to return. We all had a great time in the nature.

Fresh Veggies On a Table

   Summer, all vegetables are growing, blush, get yellow and generally delight the eye. 

This year, parsley grows like crazy. They said it should be planted so that the parsley was growing crowded. So I did this spring. I also have some lettuce, peas and beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and beet.

Here I have a full set of veggies for lunch salad: ripe tomatoes, fresh cucumbers, clove of garlic, some leaves of lettuce and parsley are already on the table. I have to wash and cut them all. 

I’ll add a little salt and sunflower oil, but I prefer to add some sour cream. A great salad for lunch. 

And what else? I take middle-size zucchini, 2-3 small onions, one ripe tomato from greenhouse and fry everything with oil. You can add some meat or fish, if you wish. I love some piece of bread. The black, rye one.

Now a cup of tea. I love tea with mint, lemon balm, or monarda leaves. Sometimes I take all these at once and put with tea bags into a teapot. Enjoy a perfect summer lunch!

 

I decided to write about my vegetables because of Holley's post “GardenBook Reviews July 2013”, she writes that started growing and eating more vegetables. She knows how good vegetables really are for people. Now it's your turn! Please join us on the 20th of every month!