(Lambsquarters [Chenopodium album], also known as goosefoot because of the shape of the leaves, supposedly similar in flavor to spinach, and can be eaten raw or cooked.)

I'm fighting the good fight over here, folks. Sometime ago it seems that all the weeds in the whole neighborhood caught wind of the fact that what is now my yard was a weedy asylum, and they're no joke. They're bringing me to my knees (literally. . . I've spent countless hours pulling them up, without any apparent progress), and all the while I'm marveling at the futility of what I'm doing. It's a strange life, this suburban living; I'm spending precious time and energy managing which plants are allowed to grow in my yard (after all, "What we call a weed is in fact merely a plant growing where we do not want it" - E.J. Salisbury). Don't get me started on the stupidity of the suburban lawn. Good grief. A vegetable garden is one thing, keeping out "weeds" means healthier plants, better yields and therefore more food to eat, but a nicely manicured lawn is just some strange attempt at outdoor carpeting. I was remarking to Alan the other day that living in a suburban neighborhood has made me temporarily (as in, as long as we live here) care about things that I wouldn't on a farm. A little rust and chipping paint may have its charm on a farmhouse, but not so much here. And who am I? I want to landscape with mulch?! I want to landscape at all?! Anyways, so it is with the weeds for now. I'll still never care enough to touch Roundup with a 100 foot pole, but I'll pull a few weeds if it makes my neighbor Mike happy, and maybe eat a few while I'm at it. I've been geeking out researching wild edibles recently, and I've identified quite a few as I've been yanking them out of my lawn. It's been said that "a weed is but an unloved flower" (Ella Wheeler Wilcox), or, in this case, perhaps a salad. I've only been brave enough to taste one of these so far, but I hope to incorporate some edible weeds into some recipes soon.

(Yellow woodsorrel [Oxalis stricta], I always just called this "clover" while growing up, and it's also known as lemon clover for good reason - it's like lemonade in plant form! Indy loves eating the sour leaves from these, and supposedly this can be made into a delicious tea and sweetened with honey. Sounds good, right?)

(Everyone knows this one - dandelion [Taraxacum officinale], leaves are best eaten before flowering to avoid bitterness, flowers can be used to make wine, and roots roasted to make a coffee substitute.)

(Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) - also a good spinach substitute, and its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties make it good for using on insect bites and cuts.)

* P.s. don't mess around when it comes to wild edibles, make sure you 100% positively identify something before you dare put it in your mouth.

Despite the heat we're enjoying summer immensely over here. I sort of enjoy the heat, actually. The other day Alan and I borrowed my parents AC-less van to pick up some craigslist dressers that were an hour away, and we just drove the whole way in the crazy heat with the windows down and it reminded me of so many good summer memories, and it felt good to actually feel the heat, to accept it and experience it and exist in it for while. It made me realize that I had been missing a little bit of the goodness that is summer by sequestering myself inside in the AC every time the thermometer pushes 80. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for air-conditioning and I doubt I'd ever give it up, but there is still something good to be experienced in that sort of buzzing, humid heat.

Anyways, Indy certainly doesn't mind the heat, but while she's outside getting her vitamin D a good hat to shield that cherub face isn't a bad idea. We picked it up at a local antique shop. Ain't she cute?

The heralders of July and the harbingers of August, the Tiger Lilies on the side of our garage are in full bloom now. We had them around the corner of our house growing up.

When I took these pictures we were getting 1 or 2 raspberries a day from our bushes, but just today I went out and got a handful so big I had to go back inside to get something to hold more. I've been researching all about caring for raspberry bushes: it's fascinating and makes me excited. Like peach trees, proper pruning ensures a good yield. Raspberry roots are perennial, but the canes only live two years. First year canes (primocanes) don't produce any fruit, only second year "floricanes" do, and then they die. These can be pruned after fruiting to open up the plant to good sunlight and airflow, and then the first year canes can be tied to a horizontal line "trellis" for easy access next year when they produce fruit. That pruning and trellising cycle repeats every year.

Indy's been playing with dry pasta and muffin tins ala Montessori-style fine motor skill practice. Apparently toddlers love playing with dry pasta, but make no mistake that they also love throwing said pasta on the floor.

I'm feeling very blessed by the season, and all the good things it brings. I hope midsummer is finding you swimming in good things as well.