The days of August are flying by!  The full moon makes me antsy, and the cool evenings make me feel as if autumn is just around the corner.  We need rain.  Lots of areas around us got a downpour yesterday, but we had only a few drops.  The gardens are drooping, and I had to start putting sprinklers on them today.  However, we have a hydrant that blew, so tomorrow we're digging it out.  No watering until it is fixed.

     I spent some of today deadheading daylilies and gloriosa daisies.  Every variety of plant that finishes makes me so aware that the season is drawing to a close.  I've been spending most of my time in the lavender field, taking over 3100 cuttings so far, so haven't paid much attention to the gardens.  However, today we had another tour group, so I walked through each garden and made mental notes of things that needed to be done while I was giving my talk.  After they left, I harvested hoary mountain mint, sea holly and artemisia.  I also need to spend a couple of hours collecting seeds this week.

     After we closed for the day, I picked summer squash.  I sauteed a big skilled full with onion, garlic and lots of dill for supper, along with a big kettle of sweet corn from a local farm.  I love suppers from the garden.  Tomorrow night I am trying a new pasta recipe that I've thought up.....pasta, bacon, bits of sauteed pork, pecorino cheese and a bit of cream and spinach tossed in at the last.  I haven't decided what herb I'll throw in, but I'm leaning toward savory or dill.  Dill is the Herb of the Year for 2010, so I need to start developing some recipes that feature it.  Maybe I'll divide the dish in half and try some of each, then decide which is better.

     Tomorrow, I'll get supplies for the Herbal Jellies workshop on SUnday.  We have a good group coming, and I'm eager to open some of my jars of jellies so they can sample.  I'm still trying to decide which ones to make for the workshop...rosemary orange marmalade, mint jelly, or plum lavender jam.  Or maybe a rose geranium jelly.  I have plenty of herbs to play with, except lemon verbena.  I didn't pull enough plants from the sales area before they sold, so I only have a couple.  Or, maybe I'll do something with the blueberries that I got while we were in Michigan.  I love herbal jellies.  One of my favorite ways to use them is simply to serve them over a 4 oz. square of cream cheese with a plate of crackers.  And, I love to put tiny meatballs in melted herbal jelly as an appetizer, or use the jellies to glaze grilled pork chops or chicken.  My granddaughters like to make tiny tea sandwiches with herbal jellies, too, or melt them to pour over slices of pound cake.  Mint jelly melted and poured over a brownie is "yummy!"  Now, I'm hungry.  Writing about food always does that!  I think I need a lavender shortbread cookie, and thank goodness there are some left from the tour group today.  That's it for today, Carolee