Between all the errands and gardening, I’m actually two hikes behind in my posting, so I’ll do this in two parts.

Wednesday at the Narrows Reserve, it was a native flower explosion in the woods along the river.  There were masses of deep purple larkspur (delphinium), phlox in all shades of lavender and pink, silvery blue wild hyacinths, pink/lavender native geraniums, bright yellow Packera (?), and a glimpse of the beautiful red trillium, not to mention many others.  It was like a wild garden paradise.

Not as spectacular, but colorful nonetheless, were these Middle Eastern-inspired dishes I made–shakshuka with homegrown (TN frozen) tomatoes, herbs, spices, and eggs, and my own version of tabbouleh with bulgur wheat,  homegrown mint, parsley, romaine, and other greens fresh from the garden.

Through it all, Queen Misu basked decadently in her boudoir on the porch.  No shame at all.