• Thursday-What'sUP September 16 - 09:01 pm

With fall quickly closing in on us, we get to start reaping the benefits of the warm summer growing season. Greta Jones caught this Mountain Ash Berry tree bursting out with berries galore. Clumps of delicious red orbs to either make jam, tea or feed the birds in the winter. Another common sight come this time of year are towering sunflowers, but I don't think I've ever seen them in the quantity Ken Scheibach and this curious young boy discovered! Last but not least the tomatoes are ripening on the vine just waiting to be picked like Joyce Tormala did here. Any bets on whether those juicy treats made it to the kitchen table or were devoured right there in the garden? My experience as harvester, would be the latter. Yum-yum!

Every morning after work I check this site and every morning I want to move up there more then the last. I love this site you guys make my day start great everyday thanks.

Your tomatoes look prettier than mine but mine taste good any way

Mary, I had a good year for tomatoes too. MaDE SOME SPAGETTI sauce with mine, but I ate quite a few outside after picking them. Those ones never made it in my house. My sunflowers are super tall this year. And the pumpkin my hubby shoveled off the step last winter grew me the most perfect pumpkin I've ever seen. It's really turning orange now with the cool nights we've been having. Like my neighbor told me, you plant corn, you get corn. You plant grass you get grass!!!

Great pictues ,

Everything looks yummy.

Those look like some top notch tomatoes!When do you guys get your first frost that puts an end to the garden?

The deer wait until my sunflowers have just budded.
Then the next morning nothing is left except a tall stalk nipped off in the bud, literally. And the hosta doesn't fare any better. Woe!

John and Anne,

Um any day now lol ;-)

in the 40's this morning, check out the bridge cam great for bank on the canal

lol make that FOG bank on the canal.

mmmm...I can just taste those tomatoes right now with the fresh juices, but then I snap back to reality and find myself in my barracks room here at Fort Hood....*sigh* But they do look good Joyce, say Hi to everyone for me, tal to you all later.

I didn't know the Mountain Ash berries were edible!? Are you sure? Our tomatoes went bonkers too this year. But I'll admit I can O.D. on them never too many to eat. MMMMM juice running down my chin. And Stewed Tomatoe Casserole, wow. Even more than sweet corn, tomatoes ARE summer.

Mary says: Yes, Ms. Katie, I'm sure they are, but they need to be dried, otherwise they can cause some stomach pain and upset. So, as long as you don't eat the fresh berries, you'll be fine. I'm glad you pointed that out, since I wouldn't want anyone to get sick! Check it out here: Mtn. Ash Berry

#2....that darling little boy makes me think all those wonderful sunflowers are looking back at him. Like a crowd of young girls giggling at the cute little fellow. Doesn't it?

Oh great! now you've all made me hungry this morning.....

Hey BobG, who won the MTU softball league this summer??? (Let me guess, fiziks??)

I'll take a copy of that Stewed Tomato Casserole recipe, please. I have baskets full of big ripe tomatoes and have run out of ideas of how to serve them. Come December I will be craving the juicy sweet home-grown ones.

Make tomato chutney, it keeps for years and doesn't need refrigeration after opening! Makes a simple turkey burger taste Gormetee--may(sp.)

Here's a cute "late arrival" in my inbox, to add to the harvesting pictures. This is Lauri Kneebone's nephew, Brandon, with quite the adornment of cucumbers! (My favorite, by the way!)

I second that, Kelly. Ms. Katie - pleeeeeeease? :)

Although that last picture makes me think more of stewed cucumbers ... yumm!

While I wrote that, the Mountain Ash site linked above loaded (thank you for providing) and caught me a little bit by surprise - sorb apple? Does that refer to the Sorb people, an ancient group of people in eastern germany that still live (mostly) in their old ways, even to the point that in their area, the names of towns and villages on roadsigns are given both in german and sorbish (tm?)? If so, that'd be a quite interesting connection ...

Ms Katie, Can I please have a copy of your stewed tomato casserole recipe?
Donagain, I'd like a copy of your tomato chutney recipe...if you don't mind.

I have a recipe for Bruchetta if anyone wants it, just email me.

Editor's Note: The recipes have been moved to Thursday's What'sUP page. Thank you!

There are Mountain Ash Trees on my grandparents farm at Princess Point near Jacobsville. I think they are very beautiful trees especially when the berries ripen to a bright orange.

Eating to many tomatoes can raise your Potassium levels, so always remember to eat in moderation.
(Just a side note...did you know that Potassium is used to stop the heart in Open Heart/By Pass Surgery, or used in lethal injections?)

Ms. Katie @ 10:43 am: If those sunflowers represent little girls giggling at that little boy: and Danbury is the baby boy of this group, is he in trouble or what? :D

Hi Renee, I would love your recipe for Bruchetta. Thanks (bthecute1@yahoo.com)

Mountain Ash berries are used making wine. Even the birds get tipsy from eating them, especially the grouse.

What about Michigan Holly aka Winterberry? Are they good for anything besides feeding the birds and looking beautiful?
We have a Winterberry bush out back about 8' diameter by about 7' tall. It is loaded this year despite the drought conditions here (SE MI, St. Clair county). The birds do go for these but not as often or much as we expected.
If it was daylight I would run out and get a good digi photo!

The Mountain Ash Tree is a good looking tree. I
remember seeing alot of them while growing up in
the U.P. Have not seen too many of them here in
Lower Michigan. I also liked seeing the White
Birch Tree. Don't see a whole lot of them here
either. I do see alot of the Weeping Willows here
and that is another favorite of mine.

Hey Joyce.....I'll take some of those tomatoes!!! They look delicious......if I close my eyes I can taste them!!!!

I don't know Brandon but those cukes look good to!!!

I admire all of you who can get a garden to grow!!!!!!!