HARVEST 2021

My husband and I have had a garden ever since we bought our first house many moons ago. Over the years it changed and evolved as did everything around us. After all, if you aren't changing and growing you're standing still (and we know in this world that doesn't work). So here we are eons later in the home of our dreams, planting, harvesting, and replanting. Even this season, the garden started in one area and was moved to another -Neither was where it started when first bought the house. 😵  I'm hoping the new area is the final designation - as do the plants.😏

With moving the garden mid season, I didn't expect the plants to do as well as they had in the past with new soil and maybe not as much prep work, etc. 

However, this year's harvest was outstanding. Here is a picture of our butternut squash. If anyone have some good recipes for butternut squash, please feel free to share. I need as many as I can get lol. 

We also grew white squash (or as some call Patty Pan squash). I forgot to take pictures of them 😞

We also put in some apple and peach trees about two or three years ago and they did not disappoint this time around either. Peach wine or apple wine anyone? Yes, please. My husband makes excellent Peach Wine. 😋 (We did eat some of them too) Next year, I hope to get to them earlier -- before they become over ripe-- and can or freeze the peaches. I think I'm going to make applesauce from the apples instead of wine tough. The last time I made it (a few years ago) the applesauce turned out so delicious.  

This was our first successful year on growing pumpkins-- planted in a different section of our land, and they also did outstanding. I may have planted them a little early, but hey, always learning something new right. Crossing our fingers they last until Halloween.👻 

A few were grown for pumpkin puree, this will be a new one for me. I'll let you know how that turns out.😋 Any advice appreciated. LOL

The tomatoes we grew this year, while they did not get as big as past years, we were able to can 22 quarts of sauce and 9 quarts of tomato soup. Yum - I had to play around with this tomato soup recipe over the years before I made the winner. (One year I added beef stock- 😬 we did not like the flavor.)  

Lastly, salsa anyone! I also tweaked this recipe over the years before setting on this winner. The tomatoes, green peppers, sweet banana peppers, and onions were all from our own garden. Unfortunately, I did not get pictures of these as we picked and stored until we accumulated enough to can. The pepper plants are still producing -hopefully I can freeze some for the winter as well.

16 jars of delectable salsa. 

I realize gardening isn't for everyone - at one time my husband did most of the work as I really had no desire to take on the extra task. I'm glad he stuck to it and over time convinced me of the benefits. Now, I even grow my own plants from seeds - A feat I refused to tackle in the past. I get a new founded satisfaction and happiness when those first little sprouts break through the soil. 

I think more and more people have started gardening over this past year (maybe due to being homebound), and I have heard of so many different styles/ ways people have incorporated plants into their lifestyles. So whether you have a plot of land or an apartment and are interested in growing your own food, search the internet. There are a lot of very creative ideas out on the web.

In the meantime, if you have any gardening tips, tricks, or unusual gardening stories, please feel free to share in the comment section. I wish you all much success. 

 

      

SCENIC SOLITUDE                                        

Wow... I can't believe it's been so long, or that I've let life and a full time day job veer me off my path - well mostly the full time job. But thankfully, I have been given the chance to reconnect with my writing and this blog- which I plan to take to new heights. I'm hoping to include updates on my writing, trips/vacations, recipes I have tried - and not burned lol, crafts I attempted, and gardening information. 

You know, when I first pulled up my page and realized I have not posted in years, I contemplated deleting the original and creating a new blog. But this is a part of my history - a part of me and my journey- and after all the hard work - definitely deserves to keep its stamp on my life. So please, excuse the missing years and join me in this new chapter of my Life. 

To begin this old/ new time, I decided to start with the first real vacation I took with my husband of 28 years. 👀👀. Yes, you read correctly. After 28 years of marriage, we embarked on our very first real vacation together -along with my sister and brother-in-law.

The cabin above is where we stayed in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and below I included pictures from our trip. So please sit back, enjoy the photos, and be transported to Scenic Solitude.

The cabin where we stayed had the most stunning views. You could see down in the valley, and at night a couple of horses would come into the field. We never did see a bear, which was fine by me, but there were reports of sightings from other people on the mountain. I did enjoy going to town during the day, but after seeing all we could, retreating to our cabin for an adult beverage while cooking out on the grill was also high up there on the list. 

The cabin was clean and the owners were magnificent. They even took the time to message me to be sure all was going well and to wish my husband a Happy 50th Birthday. (We originally planned this vacation a year and a half ago, but due to Covid we had to postpone for this year- and the owners remembered !)

If you look real close, there is a house/structure at the top of this mountain, visible from the balcony of our cabin.

We visited many placed while in Tennessee, Ole Red Restaurant, Distillery's, Winery's, and shops.  

This was taken at Smoky Mountain Knife Works, in Sevierville, Tennessee. A lot more than just knives to see in this large store.

Here is where I grew worried. You see my husband has always wanted to be Santa, and not the Santa you see at the stores, he wants to be The Santa - the one who lives at the North Pole, has the reindeer, the elves, the whole thing. Now I know we were not at the North Pole, but this place truly transports you into a Santa village frame of mind. Below you will see there was room after room of truly beautiful Christmas decorations. This place moves you to that "believing" state of mind.  I truly thought I would be coming home alone - as it took a long time to get my husband out of this magical place.

You do not want to miss the Sweet shop. We could have eaten these delectable snacks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Be sure to pack a toothbrush - and use it. 

Click on this picture to visit the Christmas Place Shop.

I would like to include a link to one more of the great shops we visited on our trip - however I did not get any pictures of this place, the skin care and smell goods are amazing. 

https://mistymountainsoap.com/

If you are thinking of traveling down toward Pigeon Forge and want more information on the cabin, click picture at the top of this page to see if this scenic place may be right for you, I know it was for us. 

Thank you for viewing my blog and I hope you stop by often.