Category: Kathy’s Garden

Aug. 19th – Hiding in Plain Sight

Hocus Pocus Focus
When I originally blogged Hocus Pocus Focus I did not include a picture. Tonight I went back into my picture folders to find an example of a thing of beauty hiding in plain sight.
When I was taking pictures of these flowers I did not realize the bug was there. It was not until I got inside and got a good look at the picture that I saw it. It had been hiding in plain sight! 🙂 I edited the picture and zoomed in on what I had originally missed.

Monster Okra

The smallest okra is 5.5 inches and the largest is 7.25. I think I waited too long to pick them. More are developing, and hopefully I will pick them before they get too big. I read that if you don’t pick them between 2-4 inches you risk them being too tough. If I pickle them this might be a problem, though if I cut them up for a stew I think they will be okay. You live and you learn. 🙂

I decided to cut them up and saute them with some minced tomato. This is an easy way to cook okra. You can see what the inside looks like if you are unfamiliar with okra.

I added a picture from today (8/4/2026). The biggest ones were a little tough compared to the smaller ones. I went out today and picked two more before they got too big. I remember eating them fried and added to soups from my university cafeteria days. The smaller ones were delicious and the bigger ones did not taste bad they were just too stringy for my tastes. I relate this to spinach because I love baby spinach but when it gets bigger I do not like it as much. It all depends on how you cook it. I will grow it again next year, and the season is still ongoing for more experimenting.

Speaking of Dragonflies…

The Blue Dasher Dance

Yesterday I was lamenting the fact that this summer I have no plants in my pond. As a result, the dragonfly sighting have been few and far between.

Here is a past post from this day July 30th several years back. I used to spend hours trying to take a picture of the blue dasher that would skim the top of the fountain spray from the pond. I was amazed that I actually captured a picture of this action. The pictures in this post were taken long ago. I have better pictures of stationary dragonflies, however, this one of him skimming the top of the fountain is my favorite. I still like the poem I wrote about our daily interactions during this period of time.

Miscellaneous Thoughts and Information

I miss my water lilies. We had to totally clean out the pond this spring because the cattails had taken over. It was a mess to clean out, so I am skipping water plants this summer. Next summer I will probably put one in, and closely monitor cattail invasion. Without pond plants there have been very few dragonfly sightings.

Here are 3 pictures taken today of an Ironweed native plant named “Southern Cross”. It is just beginning to bloom. I purchased it out at the historic Abernathy & Spencer Green House & Garden Center in Lincoln, Virginia

My camera card is full of pictures, some I had never downloaded and really looked at. I chose one to highlight today. It is a picture of a North American Green Tree Frog that I took at Huntly Meadows Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. For more information about the frog look here: https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/green-frog/index.php

Since I am not an expert, I am just guessing that it is a North American Green Tree Frog. I provided a link so that you could make your own determination.

Since the full Buck Moon is today/tonight, I did a little research on historical events that have happened around the full buck moon in July. I was surprised to see that the Apollo 11 Moon Landing was close to the full moon (not exactly on the full moon). They listed other historical events, though none appeared to have happened exactly on the day/night of the full moon. I did not do extensive research.

This is one of my favorite t-shirts. I wore it yesterday

I saw the buck moon last night and it was so lovely, it looked full even though it was only almost full. I hope to see it again tonight.

Cranberry bean update– I picked my third full bowl of the beans this afternoon. I have made 2 soups so far…soon to be 3. 🙂

Update 7/30/2026 –5:26 PM-– I did see the moon last night! After I had cleaned up everything for the day and turned off all the lights, I had the thought to check to see if I could see the moon, and sure enough it was front and center skimming the tree line directly in line of my kitchen window. I went outside and right on the threshold between inside and outside I got a beautiful full view of the Buck Moon. Light wispy clouds were hugging it and some moved across its surface, though none could dim its brightness and its beauty.

Cow’s Horn Okra Flower

I went outside to pick more cranberry beans, and I spotted the first Cow’s Horn Okra flower. I bought the seeds from The Shop at Monticello online. This is a promising development!

In other news, today I was reading about the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix that will take place in Washington D.C. near the end of August. I was interested in this because I attended a Grand Prix in Monte Carlo during vacation with my sister and her boyfriend in Cannes, France. I have already mentioned he had a yacht. He had its captain park his yacht in Port Hercules days ahead of the race because there are limited spots. We then took a helicopter the day of the race to board the boat. The thing I remember most is how LOUD the race was. The reason I mention this is because I am worried about the noise level in Washington, D.C., for the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix. It might not be so loud because they will not be racing formula 1 cars. The race in D.C. is an NTT IndyCar Series. I have never been to an IndyCar race so I do not know how the noise level will compare to formula 1 cars.

Another thing I realized today when I was trying to place these past events in time, I think both my husband and I watched a Formula One Grand Prix during the same year. He went to the Grand Prix race in Watkins Glen, NY in 1979, and the race I heard and saw in Monte Carlo was right around 1979. I was in college and this was from (1977-1981).

I ran across some old ear plugs (for blocking noise) the other day when I was cleaning out a drawer in my kitchen. If you plan to attend the Freedom 250, do not take babies or young children. It could really hurt their ears. For adults ear plugs would be recommended.

Garden Update: Cranberry Beans!

These were picked today. There are many more on the plants. I think I will let most of them dry out to store for fall.

I am having limited success with growing vegetables. The cranberry beans are the star performers. The sweet purple asparagus is coming along as expected for a first year. The cow horn okra is growing tall and the pods are developing. My tomatoes have been disappointing so far. I am learning, and next year I will change where I plant them. The one summer I had a stellar crop they were planted in the ground and ignored. I might go back to that. You live and you learn, and some of us are slower than others, or more distracted.

On another topic–I am having success in my kitchen learning different cold lentil salad recipes. I also have been playing with a new air fryer. Wow! I made stuffed peppers and cooked them in the air fryer, and they were good. What a time saver.

Update 7/26/2026– Since I am new to growing these beans, I wondered what do I do with them now. I had read that fresh cranberry beans can be picked, shelled, and cooked. They are called cranberry shelly beans. The second option is to let them dry out on the plant and then shell them. Since these beans have hardened they are good for preserving, and when you want to cook them you have to soak them.

I decided I would make a soup with the shelled beans and add some of the golden lentils I had purchased at Mom’s Organic Market. Well, I will not go into all the details other than I made a soup with the cranberry beans and golden lentils. I added an Italian broth base, and added some gourmet Italian spices I had picked up at Sur La Table, and when the soup was ready I added some parmesan cheese. It is very delicious. Now, I think I just might keep picking the beans and cooking them this way.

I am eating the soup now, and stopped to take a picture. I wish I were a food photographer because this picture does not do the soup justice.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

The nectar of a petunia is an insect magnet.
After filling up with nectar they have the energy to mate.
Flowers were blooming, the sun was shining, 
and the garden was alive.
All of nature's senses were engaged.
Energy is required for all activities.
The sun provides energy for the plants,
and the plants provide energy for animals and insects.
It was a good day for reproduction.

A good tripod and a macro lens helps tremendously to get more precise and detailed pictures. I need to get back into this habit…some day.

This native bee ignores the clearwing moths because it is intent on fueling up on this swamp milkweed flower.

A Lentil Education

I like to spend some vacation time exploring new foods and recipes. This summer is no exception. I have had lentils on my mind since I posted about tasting sea urchin in southern France when I was in my early twenties. The reason lentils have been on my mind is because I have a strong memory about lentils I ate in France when I was on vacation with my sister and her boyfriend. I decided I wanted to try and make them the same way. I have only ever cooked lentils by adding them to soups or stews. The cooked lentils I ate in France were not soft nor were they hard. They were served cold with what I think was olive oil and fresh lemon juice. When I tried to research French recipes for lentils, I was in for a lentil education.

It turns out there is a special lentil called French lentils. They are smaller and rounder and darker than the regular lentils I have cooked with in the past. I think this must be the type of lentils I remembered from long ago in France. I also discovered there are more varieties of lentils than I realized. I added the sushi rice because this was also a new discovery for me. I read an article recently that stated scientists tested different types of rice for arsenic. They mentioned sushi rice (which I had no idea there was such a thing.) They stated it had the lowest levels of arsenic.

I looked up where I could buy French lentils and it turns out that Mom’s Organic Market not far from where I live carries French lentils in bulk. I went there today and was able to find them. I also saw golden lentils and wanted to try them. My eyes surveyed their wide selection of dried bulk items and I found sushi rice! I had to buy some of it. How to make it is another lesson I learned today. I love the internet for looking up foods and recipes even though I have numerous cookbooks.

On another subject— I saw my first hummingbird in our garden late this afternoon. My husband saw it first and called my attention to it. It was in clear view of our kitchen window. I purposely planted two new cardinal flowers to attract the hummingbirds to a location where we could easily see them from inside. The spaceship rose cardinal flower is pictured below. The other cardinal flower is just beginning to bloom in the past couple of days.

This is not a great picture but you can see that this variety of cardinal flower is more pink than red. The other cardinal flower that is just beginning to bloom is a true red. In any case, our hummingbird visitor went to both of them.