BABY FRUITS NOW......

...show the promise of good things later in the season.  This wonderful weather and rainfall has created a bountiful garden this summer!

 Baby apples will be pie, dried apple slices and sauce in fall.

 Baby aronia will become an ingredient on our dark berry jam along with...

 ...blackberries...

 ...black currants...

 ...and concord grapes.

 These colette pears are best eaten fresh...

 ...as are red raspberries.

Finally, can't forget the baby tomotatoes which will become a multitiude of good things. 

Top of the list?

Dried Tomato Dip!

WEEDLESS WALKWAY

Here's a simple way to keep weeds from growing in your walkways and it's free! 

 Dig and rake the area where you want to place your path so it is level and looks good. Then lay old newspapers down, overlapping each one until the path is covered.  The day I did this, there was hardly any wind blowing....that helps!

If you have old cardboard boxes, break them down and place them on top of the newspaper.  Then sprinkle a thick layer of grass clippings or shredded leaves to hold down the paper and cardboard to hide it completely.

Have fun placing your stepping stones.  They'll look great from the start and stay that way all through the summer.

SCULPTING CONCRETE LIKE CLAY

If concrete is mixed on the drier side and includes only sand as aggregate, it can be used for sculpting using the same techniques in sculpting clay.  Of course concrete will never be as plastic as clay and you have a short window of time to do your work, but it is worth the effort and works well for our garden projects.

 It can be used to make amazing life-like  cast  leaves....

 ...and accepts all manner of pressed textures just like clay.

 Tina and Helen are using concrete to sculpt faces on garden gnomes.

 Letter stamps can be used to create words and phrases...

 ...and clay tools work equally week for sculpting in concrete.

Leftover tiles from a bathroom project add color and interest to Tori's hand-sculpted stepping stone.

 Each of these stepping stones was made by hand...

...by this happy group!