Nicotiana

I am finally starting to feel better and recover from last week. It has continued to be a bit cooler and rainier than usual this week in central Oklahoma. I have not been to the farm this week because of working a lot and recovering from being sick. My boyfriend did go there to feed our cat and he sent me some pictures of the garden and the cat. My balcony garden is doing well at the apartment and the nicotiana is blooming. I learned that nicotiana leaves are poisonous when wet. I am a little surprised to learn how many poisonous plants there are and how many I already have. Lupines, foxgloves and morning glory are all poisonous. In addition, we have the wild stuff like pokeweed and poison ivy. I also have zinnias, sunflowers, bell peppers, and peanuts blooming on the balcony. The squirrels planted the sunflowers 🌻and peanuts 🥜. It looks like the garden at the farm is also doing good with many things blooming. Coneflower, bee balm, and dahlias are coming back this year. The knockout roses are blooming again. We are also getting some food to harvest, although the bugs and animals eat a lot. We have raspberries, blackberries, and grapes this year. I haven’t seen any peaches or figs yet this year. My boyfriend ate some cherry tomatoes at the farm. The tomatillos are not ready yet and one pepper 🌶️ is growing. The hydrangeas have not bloomed yet and the elephant ears are looking good. Next week, I will go visit my family so I hope to do some drawings for my nephews and nieces before the trip. I always enjoy drawing them their favorite characters. I have not done much drawing or reading this week since I wasn’t feeling well. I intend to make up for it next week and draw a lot. I am working on 4th of July so I don’t know if I will catch the fireworks this year. I made a potato mushroom soup with horseradish cream this week as well as even more beef and broccoli 🥦. The soup was really good and I would make it again. I will be making chocolate chip cookies next week for my family. I have been using the same cookie 🍪 recipe for a few years because it is popular with my family. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17209/absolutely-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies/ I hope to go to the farm next week for a quick visit but we may be too busy. Until then, I’m continuing to plan the fall garden.

more pictures 🌹