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Hi Reader,

We've finally started to get bigger harvests from the garden! The beans are really producing now, I've got a large bowl of tomatoes ripening on the island, and I've been having fresh blackberries on my granola.💜

The past few meals I've been able to say that all the produce has come from the garden, everything for the pico de gallo, cumin slaw, and tomato feta salads.

It's a good time of the year.😀

That said, the dratted deer mowed down the new growth my spring planted berry plants had just struggled to put out after the last eating spree. So we caved and bought a motion-activated sprinkler (we got this one) for that area and are crossing our fingers that the poor little plants will stand a chance now.

Which brings me to some suggestions I got from email readers after my newsletter describing all the critter damage we've been battling this year. There are some good things that I thought I'd pass along in case you have animals eating your plants or destroying your ground.

Deer & Critter Deterrents

• String of lights - solar (this sounds so fun - I'd love it if it worked!)
• Irish Spring - cut and tied up in nylons and hung all over (even fruit trees to keep birds out)
• Posts every 4 feet to keep deer out.
• Companion planting with Mullein - try planting around the crops as a border.
• Deer be Gone - works for a few months
• Add pie plates, old CDs or anything shiny (loud would be good, too) to the strings we have around the berry beds
• Motion activated waterers
• "flying" scarecrow (the kind that moves around on a large spring)
• Everything fully fenced or covered
• Cayenne pepper - wet plant and sprinkle; reapply after rain (no need to make a spray)

We've got fences, have tried spraying things with the deer be gone type smelly sprays (only works for a week here), and now the motion waterer. Will probably be trying a few more in the future!

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An Easy Vacation Menu

We're spending a week at the coast and I wanted something easy to bring and make while there - I thought I'd share what I came up with!

​Creamy Fresh Baked Corn​ This light and tender corn casserole made with ears of summer corn is a must every August and September. Serving with grilled chicken thighs and a salad. ​

​Black Bean Quesadillas​ I'm bringing tortillas for lunch wraps so it makes sense to use them for a dinner, too. I'll serve with salsa, avocado, and a salad or slaw.

​Zucchini Turkey Meatballs + Pesto Pasta​ The frozen, cooked meatballs will be easy to pack and the pasta needs just a handful of ingredients I can throw in the bags.

​Grilled Veggies + Sausages We'll bring a lightweight grill basket to use for vegetables (probably a couple times) and serve with grilled sausages and bread. ​

We'll eat out another night and friends are bringing food for one night.

Oh! And I'm bringing chocolate chip cookies, too. 😀

From The Blog

​Good Things List No.75​ Summer Vegetable Garden Lessons, Truly Good Sunflower Oil, Jadeite Bowls, Book Reviews and More! ​ Check it out here!

​How to Dry Basil: Oven or Dehydrator​ Once you smell the incredible flavor of home-dried basil you will never opt for the wimpy store-bought ever again. ​ Get the how to here! ​

A Few More Things

I confess I was ho-hum about the Olympics this year - that was until I started hearing about it and decided to watch it. What is it about the games that makes us instant champions of sports we usually care so little about? 😂 But goodness, aren't some of the stories amazing? So heartfelt and inspiring. And funny - we will be talking about the Pommel Horse Guy and The Turkish Shooter for months, I'm sure! Are you watching?

I'm re-listening to the Red Rising series and am currently in the middle of the second, Golden Son. It's been probably 4-5 years and my sister-in-law tried it and wasn't a big fan like Brian and I, so I wanted to see if I still liked them. And wow, yes I do. It is violent and so I don't think I'd ever want to see a movie of it, but the story of what Darrow goes through to try and bring a new world order for his enslaved people is just so deep and moving. Told in the first person, you feel his love and his hatred - and the conflicts that arise when he becomes friends with those he's "supposed" to hate. The audiobooks are fantastic because the reader uses an Irish-type brogue for the lower caste Reds which brings them to life. (I've only read the first 3 - the original trilogy - I've heard the others are rather dark and I really liked where Darrow was at the end of the third book and I'd like to leave him there.😀)

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Have a great week!

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