Sounds, Smells and Tastes of Summer

The Sounds

A new family has moved in with us. Because they are small birds I call them house wrens because to me all small birds are house wrens! I really have no idea what they are but they are cute. I was able to catch a photo of them urging momma to hurry up with breakfasting by their persistent chirping. I did think I might be taking my life in my hands... I got the idea momma was watching me closely and was ready for a fight if need be!

The Smells

My roommate and I were in the yard one evening looking at our mimosa tree. She told me the story of how when she first moved here she was so intrigued one night by the fragrance that she ended up walking right into a mimosa and the sweet smelling blossoms tickled her nose. It's not hard to see why. They do have the sweetest scent and I simply love the leaves of this tree; their just as airy as the flowers. My own funny story with a mimosa tree is this... I was talking to my college boyfriend's dad and suggested that he smell the mimosa flowers I had been rolling around in my hands but he said, "No, I haven't been able to smell in years." I sure felt dumb!

The Tastes

For the past few years dad and I have gone to pick blueberries at a small farm in town. We tie an old coffee can around our wastes and lose ourselves and sometimes each other in rows of blueberry bushes. I do so love the sound of the first few berries plinking into the can. For $5 and about 45 minutes of time we come away with approximately 12 cups of blueberries. My favorite recipe is a blueberry buckle or crumble... basically blueberries baked till bubbly with some butter, flour and sugar crumbled on top. YUMMY

picture from http://www.food-info.net/uk/colour/anthocyanin.htm