After being on the road for 2 plus weeks, I was greeted by a garden much wilder and more lush than when I left! So many surprises!

Strawberries sending out dozens of new runners – carrot and beet patches like miniature forests, potatoes thronging alongside the gourds, pole beans weaving themselves along the fence, white sage and sweetgrass accepting my prayers, collards still reaching towards the sky…

The leeks are chubbier, the yellow, green and purple string beans needing to be picked!

The variety is an organic bi-color called “Luscious!” I really cannot believe how TALL it grew in two weeks.

I heard the bees above me, craned my neck and saw them all over the corn tassels gathering nectar. Look close and you can spot several!

I’m so grateful for these amazing plants. They are truly miracles in my eyes!

After some much needed weeding and further exploring it was time for breakfast. Yukon gold potatoes from the garden, crisp and so tender. The plants grew so tall they fell over, kinda scraggly over the ground, but the taters themselves are wonderful.

While I ate and tasted the first tomatoes – Moby Grape, Sun Golds and Yellow Pear, I contemplated the day ahead. I knew more pickles were in my plans, and I also knew that 2012 would NOT be remembered for having any shortage of pickles. Whatsoever. In fact, if you are on my gift list, you can be sure a quart of the Famous Tickled Pickles will making their way to your pantry.

See my post The Pickle Chronicles for full recipe if you’d like to make these truly exceptional kosher dills. Then, it was time to pick and freeze some string beans –

camera catching some steam…

Then it’s back to the garden, where vision becomes, incredibly beautiful (in my eyes) edible reality. And here you’ll likely find me, in this habitat of Love…