Bašta za leptire / The Butterfly Garden

Prošle zime kada sam htela da isplaniram baštu, shvatila sam da nisam sigurna gde sam šta posadila i koliko biljaka se primilo a koliko osušilo. Zato sam odlučila da bar jednom mesečno slikam baštu i zapisujem sve detalje vezane za njeno napredovanje: koje je cveće posađeno, a koje izvađeno; skice sa planom kako bih volela da bašta izgleda; etikete kupljenog cveća na kojima piše kako se neguje... Zbog toga je nastao mali dnevnik o bašti.

Last winter, when I wanted to make a plan for my garden, I noticed that I am not sure where exactly my plants are, how many of them are still alive and how many died. Because of that, I started taking photos at least once per month and writing all the important details about the garden: when some plants are planted, when they are removed and why; drawings for how I would love the garden to look like in the summer; info about plants and where I bought them...That is why I started to keep small garden journal. 

Naravno, ne mogu da propustim priliku da postavim i jednu od novijih slika moje bašte:) Ništa posebno se nije promenilo, osim toga što je cveće još bujnije i veselije.

I couldn't miss this opportunity to post one more pic of my garden:) Nothing much has changed, except that there are more marigold flowers and the garden is even more cheerful.

 

-->Ove godine sam bila oduševljena kada su leptiri počeli da sleću u moju baštu. Razlog su uglavnom bile ljubičaste ehinacee, čiji nektar leptiri vole. Sledeće godine bih volela da proširim baštu i da u jednom delu dvorišta posadim biljke koje privlače leptire. Zato sam počela da planiram malu baštu za leptire.

This year I was very excited when the butterflies arrived in my garden. The reason why they were around was because of the purple coneflower. Next year I would like to make a small butterfly garden, in my backyard.

Bašta koja me je inspirisala je bašta za leptire, koju smo posetili prošle nedelje.

The garden that is an inspiration for my next project is a small butterfly garden near a bike path, that we visited last week.

Bašta iz snova: u smiraj dana, čuje se pesma cvrčaka dok zlatni zraci sunca padaju na latice raznobojnog cveća
 Dreamy garden: at sunset, the crickets sing while the golden rays of the Sun fall on the flowers' petals  

Oko jezera / Around the Lake

U našoj blizini nalazi se Saylorville Lake; veliko jezero, okruženo šumom, kroz koju se pružaju staze za bicikle. Negde sam pročitala podatak da su staze dugačke blizu 25 milja (oko 40km). Staze jednim delom prolaze kroz livade, ali njihov veći deo vodi kroz šumu. Za Ajovu su karakteristične  visoke temperature preko leta, ali ove godine je bilo izuzetno toplo. Skoro dva meseca, temperature su prelazile 35 Celzijusa. Zahvaljujući stazama kroz senovite delove, bilo je moguće voziti bicikle po danu i biti aktivan i na tako visokim temperaturama.

Close to our place, there is a Saylorville Lake. The lake is surrounded by the woods and consists of long bike paths (around 25 miles). One part of the bike path is through the meadows, but most part of it  is through the woods. This year, we had very high heat, many days over 90F. It was really enjoyable to ride the bikes in the shadow of the trees.

Livade su pune leptira

Meadows are full of butterflies

Staza prolazi pored male bašte za leptire, gde su posađene biljke koje ispuštaju nektar koji privlači leptire
Path goes close to the Butterfly Garden full of the plants that attract butterflies: milkweed, purple coneflower, pincushion flower...

Moja bašta / My Garden

Već nekoliko postova na mom blogu su o bašti: slika bašte u proleće ili detalj iz bašte, slika njenih malih posetioca... Ali još uvek nisam stavila slike kako bašta izgleda sada preko leta. Ovako se moja bašta menjala od maja do kraja avgusta...

A few of the posts on my blog are about my garden: photos of the garden in the spring; detail from my garden; photos of the garden's visitors...But I still did not post the photos how my garden looks now, over summer. This is how my garden changes from May to August...

U proleće preovladavaju tulipani u bašti

Tulips in the spring

Početak juna: lale su precvetale i jednogodišnje biljke su tek zasađene

The beginning of June, when tulips finished their flowering season and annuals were planted

Početak jula, pre godišnjeg odmora: petunije su presađene u zemlju

The beginning of July, before our vacation: the petunias were moved from their pots into the garden

Bašta je zarasla korovom nakon dolaska sa odmora, ali je i cveće počelo da buja

After vacation, the garden is full of weeds, but plants started to grow also

Početak avgusta

The beginning of August

Sredina avgusta

The middle of August

Bašta ovih dana izgleda živo i veselo, pršti od boja. 

Now the garden looks vivid and cheerful, bursting with colors.

Pijaca u Demoinu / The Downtown Farmers Market in Des Moines

Svake subote od početka maja do kraja oktobra, održava se pijaca u centru Demoina. Pijaca počinje rano ujutro i završava se u podne. Tada je par ulica zatvoreno za saobraćaj i vrvi od pešaka. Prodaje se svašta: voće, povrće, cveće, sirevi, bižuterija, šivene stvari...sve ono šta Ajova ima da ponudi. Naravno najviše se prodaju namirnice, jer je ovo ipak država sa razvijenom poljoprivredom. Na ulicama odjekuje muzika i mirišu jela. Na sve strane je buka i gužva, ali je zanimljivo i veselo.

Every Saturday, like in many towns across the US, there is a The Downtown Farmers Market in Des Moines. The market is open from the beginning of May until late October. Market is full of different products: veggies, fruits, flowers, jewelry, handmade things...everything grown or made in Iowa. On the streets smells food, while bands perform their music. It is loud and crowded, but interesting and cheerful.

Malo domaće hrane: ćevapi, sarma, gibanica. Omiljen štand mog muža.

Bosnian national food (characteristic for Serbia, also): ćevapi (grilled ground meat), sarma (cabbage rolls), gibanica (cheese pita). My husband's favorite stop at the market.

Posetioci u bašti / Visitors in my garden

Pored leptira koji su redovni posetioci moje male bašte, tu su i drugi insekti. Neki korisni a neki baš i ne, ali u svakom slučaju zuje, lete i svojim prisustvom oživljavaju baštu svaki dan.

Besides the butterflies, that are regular visitors of my garden, there are other insects, too. Some of them are useful and some are not, but anyway they are buzzing, flying and making my garden alive.

Izlet na farmu / Visit to a Farm

Na tridesetak minuta od našeg mesta nalazi se Berry Patch Farm, farma koja gaji jagodičasto voće: borovnice, jagode, kupine, maline... Pored toga imaju i voćnjak sa jabukama, a u jesen velike, narandžaste bundeve koje rezbarimo za Halloween. Svakog radnog dana pre podne farma je otvorena za posetioce koji mogu sami da prošetaju farmom i uzberu proizvode koji su sazreli. To nam je jedno od omiljenih mesta kada želimo da prošetamo prirodom, a uz to i naberemo sveže voće. Farma je smeštena na brdašcima, okružena šumom i u ovo vreme puna leptira i pčela. 

Thirty minutes from our place, there is a Berry Patch Farm, farm that grows all berries: blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries...They also have apples and in the fall big pumpkin that we carve for Halloween.  Every workday they are open for visitors who could come and pick up the products ready for harvesting. That place is one of our favorite places, especially when we want to go for a walk and pick up some fresh fruits. The farm is placed on the hills, surrounded by the trees and at this time of year, full of butterflies and bees.

Pri povratku sam napravila pitu od svežih borovnica, po vrlo jednostavnom receptu. Recept sam našla na ovom blogu.

Kako nisam imala soka od narandži, zamenila sam ga sa sveže ceđenim sokom od lajma, pomešanim sa vodom. Za koru sam koristila recept od kolača sa lajmom.

Pita sa borovnicama

Kora:

155g mlevenog keksa

3 ravne kašike šećera

80g putera (otopljenog)

Fil:

5 šolja (od 250ml) svežih borovnica

oko 50-60ml vode

175ml ceđenog soka od lajma i vode (100ml soka od lajma+75ml vode)

1 šolja (od 250ml) šećera

3-4 kašike skroba

Zagrejati rernu na oko 170 Celzijusa.

Koru pripremiti na sledeći način: mleveni keks, šećer i otopljeni puter sjediniti prstima, i staviti u okruglu staklenu posudu prečnika oko 20-tak cm. Lagano ispritiskati smesu po celoj staklenoj posudi kao i po zidovima posude. Peći oko 10-tak minuta dok ivice kore ne porumene. Ostaviti po strani da se ohladi.

Fil spremiti na sledeći način: kuvati jednu šolju borovnica, šećer i sok od lajma, dok borovnice ne počnu da se rasprskavaju. U posebnu šolju izmešati skrob i vodu i dodati u masu koja se kuva. Kuvati još nekoliko minuta dok masa ne počne da se zgušnjava. Skuvanu masu procediti kroz cediljku, uz lagano pritiskanje po zidovima cediljke. Sveže borovnice dodati u skuvanu i proceđenu masu i sve lagano izmešati. Fil sipati na koru i ostaviti da se potpuno ohladi, pre nego što se stavi u frižider.

Nakon što je pita ohlađena, staviti je u frižider da odstoji bar tri sata pre serviranja. Servirati sa šlagom.

After our visit to farm, I made the blueberry pie, from the recipe that I found on this blog. I did not have any orange juice and used instead the mixture of lime juice and water. The recipe for the crust I used from Key Lime Pie, that I made a few weeks ago.

Blueberry pie

Crust:

1 and 1/4 cup Graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbs sugar

6 Tbs butter; melted

Filling:

5 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup mixture of lime juice and water (1/2 cup lime juice+1/4 cup water)

1/4 cup water

3 Tbs cornstarch

Preheat oven at 350F.

Crust: Mix together crumbs, sugar and butter. In a 9-inch pie dish, press the mixture to cover the whole dish and bake at 350F for around 10 minutes. Let it aside.

Filling: Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water. Set aside.
Cook together 1 cup of berries, sugar and mixture of lime juice and water on low heat, for a few minutes. When berries start to burst, add mixture of cornstarch and water and mix well. Cook until mixture is thickened. Remove from the heat and press mixture through the strainer. Add remaining fresh berries to the cooked mixture and mix all together. Pour the filling in the crust and let it cool in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. Serve with a Cool Whip.

*Slike dodate 19 avgusta
*Photos added on August 19th 

Lepote Ajove / Beautiful Iowa

Ajova se nalazi na Midvestu i važi za jednu od ruralnih država jer je velikim delom prekrivena obradivim površinama i pašnjacima. Ajova je brdovita sa puno njiva, malih potoka, jezera i šuma. Podseća me na obronke Fruške Gore, na Vojvodinu. U Ajovi se uglavnom gaji kukuruz i soja. Ove slike su samo delić lepota Ajove, za koje se nadam da ću uspeti zabeležiti na ovom blogu.

Iowa belongs to the Midwest of the US. Most of the land is covered with corn, soybean and grassland. Iowa is not flat, but consists of rolling hills. It is covered with beautiful creeks, lakes and forests. It reminds me of Fruška Gora, of Vojvodina, where I grew up. These pics are just a small portion of photos that I have intentions to post it, to capture Iowa's beauty.