Thanksgiving Sushi

 We had a lovely traditional Turkey Dinner last Sunday, but on Thanksgiving Monday we decided to have a sushi-making party.

 My sister-in-law brought lots of veg that had already been prepped: carrots, cukes, peppers, sweet potatoes, squash, salad cress and pea shoots. It was lovely to use the leftovers of these vegetables all week long in our lunches. I think I'm going to try to keep prepped veg in my fridge as it helps with healthy eating.

 Peter steamed some tofu and he also seared the tuna that N bought at the Kits Farmer's Market. We also cut up some avocado.

Luckily it was warm enough to have tea in the back yard. I picked some fennel seeds to dry in the porch before the rains came.

And yes, the rains have come, so the sunny days are good memories to hold on to as we shiver under our umbrellas.

Thanksgiving Feast for the Bees

Yes, even the bees get a special treat for Thanksgiving. At this time of the year they need fattening up for the winter and there is not a lot of fall forage out there. There are cosmos, Jerusalem artichokes, some sunflowers and asters, but let's face it, the sources of pollen and nectar are dwindling. So we mix up two parts sugar (4 c) to one part water (2 c) and blend in a pollen patty. As you can see, the bees are hungry and they immediately slurp up the smoothie with their tongues.


We are worried about our bees because when we checked them two weeks ago they had lost yet another queen. They had made three good queen cells so our fingers are crossed that one strong queen will hatch and help them make it through the winter. We've had really bad luck with our queens this year. I hope next year will be better.


I am drying the fennel and hops from the front of our house, but most of the hops grew way up beyond our reach. I need a trained squirrel to harvest them.


My amaranth fell over after the rain, so I've been stringing them up. I brought one head inside to see if the seeds will ripen.


I harvested some fennel twigs for school art projects.

After a lovely warm day working in the garden it was time for the human's Thanksgiving feast: squash, brussel sprouts, turkey with stuffing, cranberry jelly and my pumpkin pie made from scratch. I think the bees would have liked the German dessert wine we had with the pie. Happy Thanksgiving!