Flowers and Chocolates

The miracle of my first year 

of gardening at our new house 

is that the herd of deer (25) who 

think our back yard is their 

staycation spot, is that they 

don't like to eat the flowers!!!

Makes no sense, right?! 

My daughter and DIL who 

live right next to me and two 

houses away, respectively, took 

a cut flower class a few years 

ago, and it was really pricey! 

Fortunately they shared their 

knowledge with me, so I 

got a free class out of it.  

Everything else in the gardens, 

which cascade down the back 

hill is tented and filled with noise 

makers to keep the deer out.  

The flowers can just show off 

and don't have to be under cover.

The zinnias and wildflowers 

were just planted with seeds 

from Wal Mart.  A couple of 

the dahlias came from there 

too.  The huge Cafe Au Lait 

dahlias were special ordered 

and some came from Cal Ranch.  

The white ones are around 

nine inches across and just 

keep flowering and flowering.

My DIL sprouted the cupcake 

cosmos and gave me some starts.  

I got out almost every day and 

pick flowers.  It has been so 

satisfying, especially as I have 

battled the herd!

The other treat we have been 

enjoying this summer is 

Chocolate Covered Raspberries.

A neighbor brought me some back 

from up north at Bear Lake.  

I had always worried about dipping 

them, so I have put the chocolate 

in a candy cup with chocolate on 

the bottom.  Well, I decided to give 

dipping them a try. 

I just tempered the chocolate and 

then used a small spoon to lift the 

covered berry out.  It worked so 

well and that burst of tart fruit 

against the chocolate is amazing.  

I can't tell you how many I have 

dipped and then dipped and then 

dipped again.  It is our little 

summertime treat.

I am always sad to see summer 

go, but I love the smells of fall.

Thanks for visiting.