Heirloom Tomatoes

I picked several Heirloom tomatoes yesterday. I grew these last year, this year, and will definitely next year. They are delicious and beautiful. I made the mistake of caging them and some are getting squished. All my tomatoes have ripened early this year. Last year I had nothing but green tomatoes in late fall. It's amazing how different each year is!
These are Livingston Seed Co. Old German Tomatoes, the beefsteak variety. They are very dense and AWESOME! I like to slice them thickly and slide an egg, sunny-side up, on top. So good!

I also grew eggplants this year for the first time. While not as successful as my tomatoes, they've produced a couple fruits. I did have a lot of beetles in my garden in early summer. The eggplants, pumpkins, and squash were beaten up a bit. Below is my first ever photo of an eggplant blossom.

Harvest Time

The garden is going off and I can't keep up. I've got pickles soaking in salt water and a counter full of heirloom tomatoes. I've done two batches of green beans (into the freezer after a good blanching!) and my husband and mother-in-law processed 10 dozen ears of corn. So glad I didn't have to help with that!

This will be the first year I've made pickles from Lemon Cucumbers. They're growing like mad right now, I've let a lot of them get too big. The skin is a little tough but they taste great. And they are an array of beautiful citrus and golden yellows.

 Took a quick drive to Mayflower Lake and cast a few at sunset. The kids ran up and down the pier and managed to catch a pan fish before getting in the water.

Final Details for Moab

Less than a week until we start driving toward Moab! I still have to make my necklace but I have most details taken care of. My dear seamstress has taken in my dress a bit in hopes of avoiding any 'Marilyn' moments in the wind and I should have a shiny silver bracelet to wear with my necklace if I ever make it back to the post office.
I'm shopping for a new camera for the trip. I've been looking at Nikon, they have a lower priced digital SLR that looks nice. I'm so disappointed with my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80. Not the worst camera but it's lower res predecessor was much better. Low light shots are a mess with noise and it's just really inconsistent. Won't be going that route again. Anyways. . . 
These are my shoes for the ceremony, not perfectly comfortable but cute with rhinestones: