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Been on the road again. Once again my 4 day road trip to Montreal turned into a 9 day trip. Thankfully my husband is fine with it. It's the 3rd time that I've done it this summer.

FARMER'S MARKET
My trip to the Laprairie farmer's market was a quick one this time. I sidetracked from the direct route home to make a pit stop to pick up some delicioso curd cheese (cheese curd??). It's one of the things from home that my family misses. Eaten as is or in the fabulous Quebec staple "poutine". French fries with BBQ gravy and curds.....mmmmm....mmmm. It's not available here in Massachusetts - at least not that I am aware of. It's available in grocery stores back home but nothing compares to the the fresh from the market version.

With the dismal condition of my garden, I wish I could have picked up some fruits and veggies. They had 10 lb bags of beets for $3.50! Pickling onions too. Alas the powers that be do not allow the transportation of fruits, veggies, meat or plants. Doesn't leave much choice at a farmer's market.

SEEDPODS
Sometimes ignorance is bliss. That is the case with the datura seed pods that I scooped up at my daughter's house this past week. These are some gnarly monsters. They bite! Prickly as porcupines! My daughter didn't know what to do with the spent flowers (deadheading) and just let them be. I happily pinched the pods and rid her of those nasty, seed-filled pods! I shall try my hand at daturas this winter. We shall see, we shall see.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good

The "good" requires few words. A pretty Hydrangea bouquet with.......guess what? Leek scapes! Who knew they would add such great contrast!

The scapes are so cool! These are the same scapes that were cut a couple of weeks ago and are not showing any signs of dying off anytime soon. Awesome!

The Bad & The Ugly

In this case they are one and the same and I have no clue what it is.

I discovered this creature on my deck today. From a distance, I thought it was a turd! It was fat and fuzzy'ish and very very dead. It looks like it's part fish, part bird, part I dunno????

Then along came Mr. Ant hoping to bring home dinner for what surely would provide meals for the "next month of Sundays". He moved left, right and over but alas this monster was just too much for one little ant. But you must give him A+ for effort.