My rose bushes far outdid themselves this year. The largest bush was covered with hundreds of beautiful, dark pink blooms. The wild roses, a white rose bush, and my soft pink, double blossom rose bush also all outdid themselves, too. There are still some roses on the bushes.

Lilies!!! I bought a new lily plant this year and to see it in bloom is a real treat. The flowers are a deep maroon. It does clash a bit with the bright orange Tiger Lilies that also share the flower bed. This fall, there are some beautiful, bright yellow lilies that need to be transplanted to this lily bed where I think they will be happier.

The fireweed is growing and the flowers are heading up towards to top of the stalks. Once they reach the top (and they are midway now), it is only six weeks until winter or the first snowfall. We have several fireweed plants that have joined the perennial garden on the north side of the house. They volunteered to do so and look quite pretty there, too.

Most of my flowering plants do well on the north side. That side gets the morning and the evening light but is shaded during the time the sun is highest and warmest. But, as with the lilacs, some plants bloom a bit later in the year than if they were planted where they got more sunlight.

Moose! I thought I would quote parts of an article from our local newspaper. “Moose meat is so lean that doctors often don’t count it as a red meat when calculating dietary regimens for heart patients. … moose has only about 8 percent of the fat and one-third the calories of beef. Yet, moose meat provides about 33 percent more protein per bound than a similar cut of cow. … a moose carcass should yield between 250 and 600 pounds of meat – depending on the animal’s age after the head, hids, viscera, bones, and lower legs are discarded.” Two hundred eleven moose were hit and killed on the Kenai Peninsula during the past year. Where my husband had planned on hunting this fall was destroyed by a major forest fire. We may do without moose meat again this year.

Alaska is a large state. Most people don’t realize that it would take 425 Rhode Island’s to fill our borders.

We have grandkids staying with us this weekend. Their sisters are in Anchorage for a tournament and their team is currently in first place. Depending on whether they win their 8 a.m. game tomorrow will determine whether we go to Anchorage or not for the final game. It they win again (and we expect them to do so), then we will drive up there to watch the 2 p.m. championship game.

This morning and much of the afternoon was spent at the soccer fields in Kenai as the two grandkids were part of a soccer jamboree and shootout. Their season is now over. Next week will end the soccer season for the older kids. Then, things will be getting back to a slower speed for them and for us, too. But, the red salmon have finally arrived in abundance….

I made a really good Great Northern bean soup this week. Besides the beans, I added beef bones, cooked ground beef, sliced carrots, onions, tomato sauce, sliced turnip and turnip greens, spices, and some leftover rice. It tasted wonderful the first day and even better on day two. I love beans!

Our summer temperatures have been fairly cool this year with temperatures in the mid 50’s to low 60’s during the day and almost always into the 40’s at night. Most days have been at or below average temperatures. Most plants in my garden are doing fantastic with the cooler weather. It also made it perfect for cooking beans.

Take care. Till next time…