Thursday, August 11, 2011

Summer's End

The boys started back to school this week.  It's been such as adjustment for them, trying to get back on a schedule.  Ranger faced a huge challenge in leaving elementary school and heading to middle school.  It's overwhelming, scary, and nerve wracking.  But he's hanging in there.  Like many boys his age, he loves video games.  I told him to tackle middle school like he does a new game that's hard to play.  Just keep at it and don't give up.

First day of school





Summer is coming to an end.  If you watch closely you'll see the days are getting shorter.  The humidity isn't as high as it has been.  

No balls are bouncing.

The pool is empty.

The tire swing stands alone.
And the yard is lonely and empty since the boys went back to school.




On another note- I had an abundance of tomatoes a few days ago and decided to see what all the hoopla was about with oven roasted tomatoes.  After a quick wash they were sliced in half, drizzled with a little oil and sprinkled with oregano and basil.  I roasted for 5 hours at 200 degrees.


They definitely took on a completely different taste than I expected.  It was sweet and caramelized.  After I nibbled on a few, I took some of the others and tucked into the freezer and then a few more that I chopped up and mixed into a pot of angel hair pasta with grated Parmesan.  I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious!  


Today while the boys were at school, I snapped a few pictures.

I'm not sure what kind of bloom this is.  But I thought I was very lucky to capture this picture with the skipper and the bee.

This is a mammoth sunflower.  The head is nearly a foot in diameter.  It's so heavy it's leaning.

Peach colored zinnia.  I LOVE this shot.

Same bloom bee was on above.

Fuchsia bloom 

This sunflower is over 10 feet tall!

These stand several feet above the little barn.

You can see the mammoth sunflower in front leaning and how tall the ones in back are.

Wasp in pink cockscomb.

Bright yellow!

Zinnia bud.  I LOVE this shot, too!





10 comments:

Tami said...

I've never tried oven roasted tomatoes. Yours look delish. Thanks for the inspiration!

Jules said...

Very wise advice you gave that child may he carry that tidbit for awhile. You definitely have a photographers eye my friend. And lastly, Goldenrod... it is killing me.

Thanks for the comment you left and yes I remember that paper you write. :)
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Clint said...

It's mid August, so I got a problem thinking the summer is ending. I guess I'll never get over the childhood memory of school ending in late May and resuming in early September. Let's talk again about summer's end in early October!

Olga said...

Wonderful photos. I also use this type of tomatoes everywhere - starting from pizza, and ending with sandwiches. Good luck to the children with the start of school!

Susie Swanson said...

I've never tried the oven cooked tomatoes but they look delicious. I know what you are feeling about the schools starting back. I miss my grandaughter so much. She started middle school to yesterday. It is so quiet that I don't know what to do with myself, but that won't last for long. She was a little scared to say the least but I told her she would get use to it...Susie

Mary L. Briggs said...

Love your pictures!! Hope your son adjusts well to middle school. I remember the first day of Junior High~yikes, I was scared, LOL!

I tried oven roasted tomatoes for the first time this summer and really loved them. I also dried a few in my dehydrator. Now that it's cooled down a little, I hope to get some more tomatoes going~I'd love to oven roast and freeze for treats this winter.

The Old Parsonage said...

Ohh they do look wonderful. The kidd-o's look like a hoot too! We have (2) sons too 22 and 24 - I miss them:(

Enjoy your weekend!
Leann

molly b. said...

Beautiful pics of the boys, the veggies, and the flowers. Mostly the boys! Give them lots of hugs from Padukee.

Betsyanne (E Sheppard) said...

I always like your postings, but most of all I love your photos! Have you thought about getting a Flickr account? :-) Good job.

Anonymous said...

I look at your pictures over and over and notice something different or new each time. Hope the boys are as excited as we are about fall break. Hico Ann