Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...itchy. Oh my goodness y'all, I'm experiencing my first reaction to poison ivy, and lucky me it's systemic. I created my own worst case scenario by inadvertently inoculating my blackberry thorns with poison ivy oil (from ripping poison ivy stalks out through the brambles), reaching my arm in afterwards to pick the berries, and scratching that oil right into my bloodstream. I'll be heading to the doc later today to get on a steroid treatment. I look like I could be a Marvel monster right now, no joke.
...being a glutton for punishment, because despite being covered in this doo-scusting rash, I can't help but continue my monitoring of the blackberries. Those canes are just loaded! I'm definitely going to take more protective precautions for future pickin', though.
...looking forward to a blackberry jelly-makin' get-together with my like minded girlfriend later this week, to add to what we've already fermented (in the form of blackberry wine of course) and stored in the freezer.
...feeling hopeful for a modest honey harvest this year! I checked on my bees over the weekend and found that South Hive is already starting to store surplus honey, and Middle and North Hive were ready for another box! (I took that picture of the three hives with their new stories while wearing my veil and gloves, so sorry about the wonky framing.)
...planning some time to research what to do with excess squash. My plants out there are doing amazing things and it's about time I figure out how to put some of it up! We've been eating and sharing it like crazy, but it just keeps coming in! (Of course I've already made my must-have fav zucchini cake...)
...loving the fact that we've got a surplus of anything after that rocky start we had out in the garden, and not begrudging having to deal with it one bit.

Right now I'm planning a week with the romantic summer kitchen work of puttin' up squeezed in between meetings, swimming and music lessons, and routine errands and chores, and I'm actually quite looking forward to it all. Now I'm off to put together the dehydrator and start gathering jars before the house wakes up... happy Monday!