GOOD MORNIN ALL!

It is a rainy morning here.  Not a heavy rain, but I will take what I can get.  Especially when I got to get in my last planting of bush beans yesterday.  If I have them in the ground by August 1st, I can get one last harvest before the first frost hits here around the end of October.  So I can check that off my list. Right now I know I should be canning limas and navy beans, but instead i'm on here.  Hmmm.  I'll get to it in a minutes.  Don't rush me!
Anyway, I have been somewhat productive this morning.  I put up my first dried parsley.  I still have some store bought that I will need to use up so this was crushed and then stored in the freezer.  Apparently drying herbs isn't as hard as I thought.  You cut them, wash them well, tie them into a bunch(preferably but the stems), hang them upside down in a cool place that gets good air circulation, and let them dry thoroughly.  Then all you have to do is remove the leaves from the stems, take the leaves and roll them in your hands.  Kinda like rolling dough for cookies.  The herbs will crumble. Roll it until it is the consistency you desire.  Then store in a jar either in the freezer if it will be a while before it is used, or on your shelf for immediate use.  See!  Easy Breezy.  Right now I have Oregano, Rosemary, Mint, and Thyme drying.  My closet smells soooo good.  Oh FYI, my walk-in closed is split into two.  Half is for our clothes, and half is my "pantry".  I will try and get a pic, but right now I can't find my camera.  Ya know there are just some times when I get a small inkling of how weird I am.  But I embrace it!  EMBRACE THE WEIRDNESS!
On a normal note, I can share a blessing I received yesterday.  I try to say "blessing" instead of "lucked up".  Sometimes I slip, but I try to remember that "every good and perfect gift comes from above" so I figure if God can take the time to count the hairs on my head (that gets easier as I get older lol), He must want to  take the time to bless me with small little gifts as well.  This gift came in the form of more herbs.  I went to the local Ace Hardware yesterday to get some more bush bean seeds to plant.  When I was going into the store I noticed some really rough looking plants in the corner.  They looked about dead.  I said something to the cashier about them and she said they were throwing them away.  I said if they were throwing them away I could take some off her hands.  She said to take what I wanted.  I picked out three "orange citrus"mint, 1 dill, and one Parsley.  I know I don't need parsley, but it was fighting for life.  I didn't have the heart to leave it to die.  So I brought everyone home.  Once I pulled the dead branches from around the mint I realized there were living little mint plants bound and determined to live.  I am happy to say they made it through the night and seem to be doing well.  I will share one with a friend(hey K), one with my sister (hey D), and keep the last one.  The dill and parsley were replanted, dead branches removed, well watered, mulched, and shaded yesterday to let them get their roots established. Then I gave them the talkin to that I usually give my transplants/volunteers. " I have done all I can.  If you die it is not my fault".   That speech has worked so far.  Why mess with a good thing ya know?  Today is a perfect day for them to come out from the shade a bit because of the clouds and rain.  So far they are looking Okay, but it is still a wait and see.  The dill I believe is a perennial and so I will be very excited if I can get it to come back.
Speaking of "coming back".  My tomato plants are doing what they do every year.  They will die, or at least look about dead in the hottest part of the summer.  Leaves turn brown, no blooms. The blooms just wither and die back.  Then just about the time I go out to pull them up, I notice new growth, blooms, etc beginning. So I make sure they are well watered, weeded, etc to give them the best chance.  After a while I will have lush green tomato plants hanging with tomatoes.  Just about the time they are ready to start ripening, We have our first frost and that kills the tomato plants.  The tomato don't ripen and I end up with a lot of green tomatoes use. I have canned green tomatoes for fired green tomatoes, I have made green tomato mincemeat, and salsa.  I don't need anymore.  So my plant for this year is to cover them with a hoop house prior to the first frost.  If I can just give the plants enough time to let the tomatoes ripen naturally, I think I will get a good second harvest.  Well worth the cost of making a hoop house.  In addition to beans, and tomatoes in my "fall" garden, I will plant beets and spinach in the next few weeks.  Other than that things should slow down.

So now that I have rambled for a page or so, I have to go can beans and BBQ sauce. I can't put it off anymore.  Well unless I can think of something else to do.  Lol  I hope everyone has a great day.