An ode to spinach and redbuds!

I am not actually planning to write a lyrical poem about spinach or redbuds so I should probably reconsider the title of this post. That said, this will be a post with words and images intended to celebrate, honor and express deep gratitude to the wonderful contributions that both red buds and spinach are making to our lives at present! We are feasting our eyes on them, as well as just feasting on them! I love them individually, and I love them together!

I have taken so many pictures of red buds - against the blue sky, with the mountain in the background, before they opened, once they were in full bloom, flowers growing right from the trunk, the ones in Nora's garden, kids eating them, etc... This is truly only a sampling of them! And while neither Alida or Terah look like they are enjoying the snack, that is the photographer's fault for how I caught them... I had to chuckle when a JMU class came the other day and we mentioned to this group of college students that they were welcome to help themselves to red buds. I could see the social dynamics playing out right in front of me. The group of students started walking past, appearing uninterested in trying this flower growing on a tree. But then one student ducked under the tree and plucked off a blossom and ate it. That's all it took for other students to circle back for their own taste. It was just hard to be the first...

And while the spinach doesn't stand out with splashes of color from its surroundings, it sure is a stand out crop for us this year! Despite me finding one plant where a vole had eaten off the plant right to the base of the leaves and left the leaves for me nicely picked and ready to wilt if I hadn't come by just then, we are having a bang up harvest this year! We have done 3 major pickings/freezings thus far and have squirreled away over 5 gallons of blanched chopped frozen spinach already! YIPPEE!!! The leaves are huge and robust. It's so fun to see the contrast of where I've picked and where I haven't. 

Each time I've frozen lots, I've also left out large bags for fresh eating. Kali is getting a batch of hot spinach dip going as I type to go with our leftover burgers for dinner. Yum!