By the time we moved in this summer it was too late and with too much else to do (in the house/yard) to really get anything going in the garden. I've already been thinking ahead to next year a lot and I'm sure come January I'll be pouring over seed catalogs. I realized that if I wanted garlic late next summer I needed to get it in now! It was last minute, so I just picked up some organic grocery store garlic and I'm hoping for the best.

Indy trailed me into the yard to "help out." She's at the age where that's a very frequent occurrence. Of course, anything she helps with takes about 3 times longer than it would if I could just knock it out myself, but it's a lesson in patience for me, and meaningful, interesting, and educational for her. To be honest, she also consistently impresses me with how capable she is. She carried the bowl of garlic cloves for me (spilled it a few times, but picked everything up!), maneuvered carefully around my trenches, and even noticed that the correct way to put the garlic in was pointy side up. It was a good reminder for me to give her more chances to just try, and then offer help when she needs it, rather than always doing everything for her. Even at this age I believe that she can start to contribute to our family in meaningful ways, which is helpful for us and important for her sense of independence and self-worth.

And anyways, who wants to plant garlic alone? Her curiosity and wonder remind me to be in awe of the process, and I enjoy her little company. 

(A view of the apple tree from the kitchen window)

Just like that, one week we were "in the peaches" and then they were gone. A sad day (though we're still munching through the gallon bag of frozen peach quarters in the freezer - Indy especially, who regularly asks for a "frozen peachy"), but fortunately the peaches bid their farewell just as the apples were tipping their hat hello.

They're knobby and a little bug-bitten, especially on the lower branches, but they taste really good. We have no idea about the variety - they're small and round with a balance of sweet and tart. Not as crisp as a Macintosh and not as sweet as a Red Delicious. Any apple experts out there?

Of course we have lots of plans (apple pie, hard cider), and plenty of apples (in fact we've already lost two branches to the weight!) but we'll see what we have time for. We'll still go apple picking this year - it's tradition, it's nice to get some other varieties of apples, and THERE ARE DONUTS (!!!), but it's still fun to have another edible thing back there to harvest and munch on.