When I look out the kitchen window (while I am washing my dishes), I get to look at these sunflowers. Last year I had made a wigwam / tipi of old sunflowers, amaranth, broom corn and everything else I thought the birds would like. Of course it re-seeded and I decided to leave it. It has been lovely and I think I will keep it next year. I also feel less badly about having bird-enticing things on the north side of the house since the cats spend most of their time on the south side of the house.
And I have begun some pickling and canning. I bought 10 pounds of beets from a gardener down the road and canned them. I’ve canned them completely plain –not pickled. I like them in salads and soups in the winter.









I canned some chickpeas when I did the beets –since I had a little space in the canner for some extra jars. These are bread and butter pickles.


