I thought now
would be a good time
to start the drying experimentations -
now, as the summer bouquets
start to fade in the vase,
let's see what will make
the cut for the fall garland?
Sunflowers
are always a great choice and
look good whether their golden petals
stay in tact or not.
Zinnias
might be
a different story...
Have any of you tried
to dry zinnias?
When first layed
on the kitchen window sill,
they looked promising.
But, the next morning, not so much.
Although,
after a more thorough examination...
...even though they kind of look
like shriveled up spiders,
their color stayed good
so they might be okay
for a small filler.
I'm leaving these blooms
in the vase
until the water evaporates.
They are from the same bunch
as the dried ones and
are losing their bright colors but
still look presentable.
It's all just a matter of
sweet experimentation.
It is a beautiful
Sunday morning as I write this and
we are off on a road trip that,
hopefully,
will take us to
a sweet destination.
A road lined with
wildflowers on one side...
...and blackberry bushes
on the other.
We are traveling down Hwy 49,
an historic road
that we travel often and
one of our most happy places.
We only will follow it
a very short way today
but there will still be
a lot of beauty
to take in.
Here
wildlife intermingles with
our lives.
There are small hamlets
along the route
that were a big part of the
gold mining communities...
...and one in particular
where we stopped
for lunch...
...a tasty tuna salad sandwich
mixed with apples and cheese
along side
fresh garden greens and cucumber slices,
lightly drizzled with a delicious dressing.
Because we had the dogs,
it was too hot to eat in the car,
probably not unlike
it might have been underground
in a gold mine,
so dining on
wooden benches on the open porch
of the little rustic building
was perfect.
I could almost see
the miners sitting there
many years ago,
eating their meager packed lunches,
dreading the fact
that they had to go back to work
under those conditions.
A far cry
from our time spent
in an air conditioned car.
There is a lot of turmoil and hardships
in our country now and,
I simply cannot forget the fact
of how lucky I am
to be able to lead
the life that I do.
We turn off of Hwy 49
onto a smaller country road...
...lined with beautiful and
well maintained orchards.
All kinds of fruit trees
are abundant here...
...and,
even though we have been here before,
it is always such a treat
to see it all again,
knowing what a
sweet destination it is.
We had come for
the Perfect Peach Pie but,
unfortunately,
they were all out and
the shop keeper sold us on the idea
that the nectarine pie
would be just as good,
so with pie in hand,
we got back on
the road to home.
The Captain agreed with her,
but nothing can take the place of the
Perfect Peach Pie
in my mind
so even though it was good,
it was just another
sweet experimentation for me and
in a few weeks
there will have to be
another journey to
that sweet destination...
...but, for now,
for this weary traveler,
being home and reunited with
a special friend
is the sweetest
of all destinations.
...Judy...
Life and Linda
has started up a new link party called
and I will be joining there along with
this week.
Hope to see you all there.
