Hello garden gals and guys! I have been really enjoying my backyard this season.  Having a swing back there to sit on just makes it so relaxing.

What’s that? You didn’t know I got a swing. I sure did! It’s from Walmart and I’ve had my eye on it since May. It went on sale a few weeks ago and I snagged it for half of what it originally was!

Yayyyyy me!

Here is a picture of it just after hubby and I finished putting it together.

Here it is yesterday.  I found some citronella tiki torches for 2.50 a piece and added them to my little slice of paradise:
It’s sooo comfy. I actually fell asleep on it when I first got it.  
I spent part of Saturday and today (Sunday) blanching, peeling and vacuum sealing peaches to freeze for the winter.  Here’s some pics from that:

Peeling them after blanching them is soooo easy. Here they are all peeled and ready to be sealed.

 And here they are sealed and in the freezer.

The picture doesn’t do them justice. There are a lot of bags in there all stacked on each other…and this was just ONE box. Here is a shot of the freezer with both boxes:
Now we’ll have fresh peaches all winter! My backyard garden is doing really great. Here’s my latest little harvest:
My sons love the jalapenos and will be using those for something soon, I’m sure. I am going to take the maters and basil and pair it with some fresh mozzarella to make a nice caprese salad. Yum!
That’s all for the garden news.  Now for some local travel.  A few weeks ago I took my two youngest to St. Michael’s, Maryland. It’s a quaint little town on the Eastern shore. I had never been so I decided to hop in the car and go.  
We took a nice boat tour of the island with Patriot Cruises.  The boat had snacks available to buy and even a bathroom.  It was a lovely boat.  
Here is a picture of the boat:

Here we are:

Here is another shot of the boat with our captain:
Here is a picture of The Crab Claw, a restaurant that everyone raves about. I’ll have to take hubby back over the bridge to eat there.  Maybe for my birthday or maybe for our anniversary.

Here’s a snapshot of the lighthouse on the Miles River. 
The mansions on the river are nothing short of amazing.  The pictures I was able to get with my phone do not do these houses any justice at all.  This mansion is surrounded on three sides by three different bodies of water. It’s a huge farm that you actually pass by as you drive in to St. Michael’s.  

Here are a few more homes. I forget the history behind them.  

Okay, back to the land. These are the historic homes that you can see from the pier. We had a chance to walk along the sidewalk and read about them while we waited to board the boat. 

That’s it, folks! It was a nice little outing but boy was it HOT!  On the way home I had to stop and get a picture of this because there are just no words. I made this photo extra large so you can enjoy the ridiculousness. Let me know when you’re done laughing! 
Then I absolutely HAD to stop and get this photo. No explanation necessary. 

If you didn’t know it, Frederick Douglass was actually from St. Michael’s. Harriet Tubman is also from Maryland, about 30 miles from St. Michael’s.  They did provide some nice history about them both on the boat tour.  
Well, that’s all for now folks! Until next time…
Happy farming!