Strawberry Season's Bounty

 

 To be absolutely spot on the mark, I should have a picture of my fresh strawberry shortcake or my strawberry/spinach salad here under this title.  As it is, I have pretty jars of strawberry jam before it went into the freezer, and strawberry sauce, my own recipe.  It gets frozen as well.

This year in my part of Ontario, strawberries were amazing; in fact, as Sue at Red Barn Berries said, it's the best year ever.  And even though I don't usually freeze berries anymore, my husband and I did hull a few for these goodies.  Couldn't resist.  The jar we put in the frig to use is almost gone but the others are waiting safely in the freezer for that cold day this winter when we'll feel like a taste of summer.

I'm not sure when the best feeling of accomplishment strikes, when I see the freshly jarred berries glowing red on my counter or when I go to my freezer and pull out the fruits of my labours to enjoy while winter's winds whistle at the keyholes.  

My daughter carries on the tradition.  She made strawberry-fig jam with a friend, teaching yet another convert the benefits to both tummy and personal well-being of preserving summer's succulent treats.  And that's a good thing.  Martha Stewart would be proud.

Wild Beauties of Ontario--Weeds

Near my home is a bit of land waiting to be developed, but while it's waiting colourful flowers fill up the space.  Here is a self-seeded poplar tree, flanked by that wonderful shade of blue cornflowers.

I saw these a few days ago but didn't have my camera.  The next time I went by there was no blue in sight.  I thought I had missed them.  Then I realized that the early bird gets, not the worm, the flowers!

This weed is so pretty there is even a crystal pattern, very popular when I was getting married, called cornflower.  Of course the crystal misses the heavenly colour.

Vibrant tiger lilies always greet us beside every country road but this year they are more plentiful and a deeper colour.  I think our wet spring really served them well.  Now, we could stand some rain!  (Notice the rising corn behind the lilies.)

And further along my picture-taking route I found these beauties:  tiger lilies, something purple and something taller that is violet.  I could look up the names but to me they don't matter.  The beauty does.

Highway 401 has been planted with great stretches of crown vetch.  Here I found some along a country road.  It is so luxuriant I just want to lie down and let it cradle me.  As long as there are no bees, that is.

Little compact patches of this vibrant yellow clumping flower grow sparingly along the roads.  Of course this one was on a busy highway so I had to fight traffic to get these shots.  Worth it, though.

And here I've pulled back to show the distance shot.  Like a shot in the arm these bits of sunshine are.

After I got my pictures I headed for the garage to book another appointment to fix the thing we paid $500 to fix two weeks ago.  A sad way to end my beauty tour.