Strawberry Update

 Thanks for all the suggestions.

Boud's comment made me realize that Dan has a NutriBullet and he could make a strawberry/banana smoothie for us.

He did this morning and it was delicious.

There are still a few left.  Maybe into a salad with lettuce from the garden today.

First Local...

 

... strawberries.  

How shall I fix them?

How do you like your strawberries?

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Addendum:  I ended up fixing about 2 cups of these by taking off the tops, slicing in half, sugaring them with a bit of lemon juice.

I baked oatmeal almond scones with a few chocolate chips added.

We had the scones topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

Sorry no photos!

I still have half of the container of berries to use up!

A Huge Old Tree

 St. Gaudens National Historical Park has one of the largest thornless honey locust trees in the country.  Up until recently it was the largest. Now one in Virginia is larger. This tree was thought to be planted by Augustus St. Gaudens in front of his house in the late 1800s.

The steps to the house have been moved many times to accommodate the girth of this tree. One member of our group worked here 50 years ago and said that the tree was to the right of the door then.  Now you can't see the door to the house.

The head gardener is trying to grow offspring of this tree.  One way is that clear ball around the branch below.  Somehow roots develop and it can be planted.

The tree has it's own ecosystem (maybe that's not the right word) as shown by these lilac sprouts growing above ground between the trunk and a large branch.

I didn't step back far enough to get a view of the entire canopy.  It's outfitted with lightning rods as a precaution plus horizontal supports to support the heavy branches.

Some more views of these lovely grounds.

Gardens

The Little Studio

And a reproduction of a famous sculpture.

Come to New Hampshire to see this wonderful park.  With latest cutbacks on national park funding it's only open Thursday-Monday.  We were there on a Tuesday for a special presentation to our historical society and garden club members.  The buildings weren't open but grounds were.

Good Eats

Made eggroll in a bowl again tonight.  Recipe came from Denise in VA HERE

Tonight I used 1/2 lb. ground turkey and bok choi instead of cabbage.  

I served it over rice with a side of fresh snow peas from my garden sauteed in sesame oil.

Thank you again Denise from sharing this recipe.