This morning's sourdough loaf. I think the starter has been up to speed for a while now. This one was unbleached bread flour but the starter was whole wheat so there's a little of that in there. I think I got the hang of all the shaping steps now. #sourdough #baking

The deck eggplants are looking pretty good. #ContainerGardening #AccessibleGardening #KitchenGarden

23rd day progress note for rose stem cuttings. These were treated exactly the same way as the St. John's Wort cuttings I posted separately. Two have roots showing through drainage holes. A fair number of leaves dropped. Happy 😀. #RoseCuttings #PlantPropagation #RosePropagation

23 days follow up for St. John's Wort cuttings. Roots are peeking through drainage holes. Tops have expanding growth buds. I used seed starting medium, East window, plastic bag tent, mid strength Dip'n'Grow. These will be for the yard of my new house. #Cuttings #PlantPropagation #StJohnsWort

#Sourdough loaf #5. I think I'm getting better. Rise and shoulders are higher. Missed one shaping step, oops. Still very happy with this one. Unbleached bread flour. The ear is a little burnt. The 2nd image shows a little blistering. I like that. #sourdoughbread #baking

Some of the container vegetables. Tomato plants, eggplants, peppers. 🌱 #KitchenHarden #AccessibleGardening #ContainerGardening

The Regal Geraniums are doing well now. I've never grown them before. The original flowers got messed up by rain and hail. Some bloom booster seems to have helped. 🌱 #Gardening

Sourdough loaf #3. This one is half whole wheat flour and half bread flour. I think my technique is gradually improving. Still needs some work. This is less dense than 100% whole wheat and rose better for me. Next loaf will include walnuts and cranberries. #sourdough #baking #bread

White bean skillet meal, sautéd diced onions in olive oil, removed, sauted tomato paste (splatter!), then 30oz pre-cooked beans, onions, roasted garlic, seasoned salt, cayenne & black pepper, heat, top with hatch pepper salsa then mozzarella cheese. then in hot oven 5 min. #beans #vegetarian

Sourdough loaf #2. This was just bread flour, water, homemade starter, and a touch of salt. The oven-split was very nice. I still need to work on things but this was really tasty. Will a sourdough-crust pizza be next? #Sourdough #BreadBaking

I watered thoroughly on Thursday and gave some dilute fertilizer today. I think it will have a burst of growth now. It will be interesting to see if it blooms before winter. This was the same Brugmansia a few years ago.

This is sort of crazy. I was cleaning up and looking for plant containers behind the compost pile. Two years ago I gave up on this brugmansia, cut it down, and left it there through two winters and summer with no watering. And now it's growing! I'll see if I can rebloom it again. #gardening 🌱

Today I dug these up, before I have the yard cleaned up for selling the house. They'll have to sit in pots for a month before moving them to the new house. If they don't live, that's OK. It's about the worst time of year to do this. Siberian iris, lavender, crocosmia. #gardening 🌱

Black bean bake - Black beans, onions, roasted garlic, smoked paprika, seared tomato paste, cumin, pepper flakes, olive oil, topped with Hatch pepper salsa, shredded cheddar, and a touch of shredded Romano. Roasted a few minutes in hot oven. Yum! #cooking #beans #vegetarian

My first attempt at a whole wheat, artisan-type sourdough loaf. It came out OK. A bit heavy. Maybe I should try 50:5o or even just bread flour, next time. #sourdough #baking

Bad Quilting! Pillow shams. No big deal, I bought cheap at estate sale. After washing cold, gentle, I saw the blue bled into the whites, & lots of disintegrating seams. I don't think they used 1/4 inch seams, & no prewashing of dark fabrics. Will use until I make some myself. #quiltsky #quilting

St. John's Wort, now making berries. This is a shrub-shaped variety, not the ground cover type. #StJohnsWort 🌱

Whole wheat #sourdough pancakes from starter discard stored in fridge. 1 cup starter, 1 tsp wh. wheat flour, 1 tsp monkfruit sweetner (sugar would do, but I'm avoiding it), 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2-tsp baking soda. I stirred and cooked on skillet like pancake. Different, not too bad! #pancakes

Day #5 of serial feedings of whole wheat #sourdough starter starting. Overnight, foamy and bubbly, yay! Nice alcoholic sour aroma too. Will keep going a few more days, then try making a loaf. I used to make sourdough bread when I first retired, but with bread flour. #BreadMaking #SourdoughBread

St. Johns Wort bush with lots of bees. #Bumblebees, #Honeybees and others. Blooming for more than a month now. #StJohnsWort

I took cuttings of St. Johns Wort bushes to plant at the new house as a low hedge. This is a busy type. Very bee friendly, colorful deep green leaves, yellow flowers, red berries. #StJohnsWort #Cuttings #Propagation #BeeFlowers

I took cuttings of these red roses and two other favorites, to move to the new house. It will be much smaller garden. I usually start roses in fall, but have started some during summer successfully. They are all 25 to 30 year old bushes. #RoseCuttings #RosePropagation

It's been years since I baked #sourdough loaves. Starting over again, this time 100% whole wheat. I used 2 tbsp each flour and water, sat for a day, then added 2 more tbsp each. Today, day 3, I added 1/4 cup each. I'm seeing frothy activity. Transferred to pint jar. #baking

I had a doctor's appointment today and needed to stop in the rest room. I saw this sign. It seems like wise advice, but I wonder about the necessity. #Don'tDrinkTheWater #Advice

Easier starch recipe for #quilting. My store stopped selling spray starch. Soaking fabric in liquid home-made starch, then squeezing, can deform & stretch fabric. Reworked for hand spray bottle. Spray on fabric, let dry, then press. Much easier. See alt txt for recipe #MenWhoQuilt #QuiltSky

More roses in bloom. Tropical Lightning (very vigorous and thorny), unknown cream colored English-type rose, Vanessa Bell English rose, Mme Boll old garden rose - the most fragrant in my garden, I grew from a cutting. Mme Boll is French, from 1800s. #Roses

Lots of roses blooming. New Day, Scentimental, red rose I thought was called "American Classic" but maybe not, Scepter'd Isle. Most are 20 years old and have been moved a couple of times when I changed homes. #Roses

Spa day for Mr. Rufus. His personal groomer (me) attended to his every need, gently responding to squirming, & switching to scissors for sensitive areas (face, paws). After his haircut he had a warm shower with shampoo & conditioner, & towel massage. Now he's a happy dog! #Rufus #DogsOfBlueSky

Random stuff for June. Strawberries ripening. Wild Pacific irises by the roadside. Garlic scapes for stir fry. Wild roses by roadside. #Wildflowers #gardening 🌱

Nice day. Sitting on the front deck with a fierce black sheep-lion by my side. #Rufus #DogsOfBlueSky #Dogs