Pickled Beets

I always plant a big row of beets because I love them. Unfortunately, they usually go mostly to waste because I can't keep up with them, seeing as other key people in the house think they taste like dirt. So this year I decided to take action and not let that happen again, and I made pickled beets!

Lest you wrinkle your nose, let me tell you these are amazing! I grew up eating them in a relish tray every Sunday dinner, and Thanksgiving and Christmas too. My grandma did them every year, and she recently told me she remembers my twin sister leaving her house with a jar of pickled beets under each arm because she loved them so much. My mom has also done them many times, and I figured I should continue the tradition.
 

Beets are beautiful with their vibrant green and purple stems and leaves.

I decided to stem them all for easy cleaning in the kitchen.

My little guy is a great helper in the garden. I love the age when anything Mommy is doing is the most exciting thing in their lives, and they want to tag along with you! My girls used to be like that but now they are on to bigger and better things.

I've always been told beet greens are good for you, so I decided to try them for dinner and just heated a little butter and sauteed them, then seasoned them with salt and pepper. I can't say we all loved them, but we liked them.

Now for the pickling process... the first step is to wash the beets well, and then boil them until soft.

Once they are cooked they are much easier to skin and chop into bite size pieces.

Once my jars were heated and my water bath canner was ready, I packed the beets in jars, added a brine made of water, vinegar, and sugar, and processed them! I suggest the Ball canning book for any questions you might have about canning... it makes it simple and is actually pretty easy! The hardest part about canning is having all the moving parts ready at the same time. And you have to be prepared to have a sticky mess in the kitchen for a few hours, but it's always worth it!

It's fun to have these sweet & sour magenta morsels on my shelves! 

Buggy

The end of summer is always full of bugs. The flies are out of control (at least here in Lehi) and myself and my neighbors have contests to see who has the killed the most in a day... the average being around 30! Nasty.

The garden is full of critters too. We saw a katydid on our driveway last week and I wish I had taken a picture. They are so pretty! We've also seen a praying mantis, and wasps have built nests in our playset.

About a month ago I started noticing holes in my petunias, tell tale signs of caterpillars. Within weeks, all the flowers were gone. So frustrating!! 

One day I decided to catch a few culprits.  Sure enough, the plants were full of them!

My squealing assistants helped me catch them and put them in a jar for observation. Well, really it was just to keep them from ever returning to the petunias, but the kids loved watching the crawl and scooch around.

We caught about 20, but it didn't make a dent. Still no petunias. When I think about all those green caterpillars still out there, it gives me the creepy crawlies.

The same day we noticed a wasp and a grasshopper fighting over something. Yep, it was a caterpillar! We tried to tell them no fighting needed, they could take as many as they wanted!

Last night the man of the house decided it was time to get rid of the cat face spider above our porch. They are harmless to humans, but they're huge and creepy looking, and it was pooping on our porch! Who knew that spiders poop?

As we were playing at dusk we caught sight of this weird flying beetle dragging a dead spider. Ewww! As much as I'm not ready for cooler temperatures, they do have the benefit of killing off the bugs for the year!

Morning Snack

We are loving the fruit growing in our own back yard. The strawberries are taking off (if we can keep the kids from picking them too early)! The nectarines weren't properly thinned so they are tiny, but they are super sweet and juicy! We go back there almost every day and help ourselves to a yummy snack.

Garden Wedding

Over Labor Day I was able to attend the wedding of my little sister's best friend at the Idaho Botanical Gardens. It was like a beautiful dream.

The happy couple had their ceremony in the English Gardens. Besides being very hot, it was a touching thing to witness.

Noelle made a beautiful Maid of Honor.

The following are photos I took as we toured the gardens, in between the ceremony and reception.

The covered pergolas were impressive. I would love to see them when all the climbing wisteria vines are in bloom!

 This was called the Rose Garden.

 

I loved these purple penstemon type flowers.I have only seen them in red.

The bridges, arbors, and gazebos added to the ambiance.

The big shady trees in this area made for lush shade plantings of hostas and heucheras.

We found the wedding party taking photos and went over to watch and hug the bride.

Loved the style of the photos with the suspenders and sunglasses!
 

 

It was a treat to be with all my sisters, and the bride may as well have been a sister, she was with our family so much! They met in kindergarten and would still call each other best friends. 

We may have taken a silly one of our own.

Then on to the reception! The colors were blue and coral, so pretty together!

The centerpieces were terrariums, and the doilies were actually my grandmother's!

Noelle made the darling backdrop for the gift table with strips of fabric and lace.

The bridal flowers... ahhh, the bridal flowers. They were amazing. I absolutely loved the succulents mixed in with the peach and coral flowers. The different textures made them look so romantic. 

The lace around the bride's bouquet was actually a section of the mother-of-the-bride's wedding dress!

We thoroughly enjoyed the night eating, dancing, and watching the festivities (while the other three dad's watched all the kids!!!). If I could do it all over again I may have chosen the Idaho Botanical Garden for my reception... Gorgeous!