Have I mentioned lately

that I adore my garden?

Today's haul was a 12 pound bag of:

3 kinds of peppers: sweet bell, jalapeno, and green chilis

huge zucchini

loads of cucumbers!

delicious salad greens (a bit bitter, which is perfect)

lots of green beans!

((Oh, and my Bradley natural childbirth book! haha))

A picture of our salad from dinner tonight.

It just does something for my soul knowing I planted the cucumbers and lettuce from seeds-

and now it sits on our dinner plates.

It's official- I am addicted to gardening.

Our skin is glowing from the time outdoors, our meals are healthier, our carbon footprint is smaller, we've in turn discovered a love of rain barrels, composting, and the chickens love the scraps they get from me trimming up the veggies! And the chicken treats turn into delicious eggs that I get to cook with, bake with, and give away!

This is a picture (that I jacked from her Facebook) of a Thank You present we dropped off at our buddy, Darlene's house. She took care of the kids for me for many hours so I could be at the hospital with my dad when Tim was traveling for work. We sent her a few eggs, peach jam, blueberry jam, strawberry jam, apple butter, peaches in light syrup, and dill pickles! It is nothing compared to what she did for us while my attention needed to be elsewhere, but it was nice that my garden (and farmer's market), chickens, and newly discovered canning skills could be useful for gift giving!