a breath taking display

Edwin came home with an armful of these miracles of nature.

Picked from a garden of a member of the family. I added a few more from my own garden to fill out the display a little.

To achieve a long lasting display, I crushed the woody stems, cooked the lower 10th of each stem in boiling water for a few seconds, and then plunged them into a galvanized bucket filled with water -  adding a few more from my own garden to fill out the display a little.

A delight to the senses. 

The search for a plant has begun!

from the kitchen today

visual treats as I work over the kitchen sink. geraniums and crab apple blossom in antique bottles

a window view

....from the kitchen window sill. Glass bottles containing pink geraniums, and the flower of the south african fig, also known as 'pig face'..

our radical solar powered clothes drying apparatus

sans the energy guzzling clothes dryer, my ad hoc line that i've been using for the last ten years at this property is my preferred method of drying the washing. I don't have to explain why.

October, and the garden is in full bloom . The lilacs scent are heavenly, not only to us, but also the insects. The bees in particular, who seem to get drunk on the sweet scent .

making the dairy free cheesecake

whipping up the chilled coconut cream for the topping

the entire cake is made from a variety of nuts, fruit with maple syrup used as the sweetener

 finito!