almond joy~

my husband has been working from our little casita during the pandemic, outside his window is an almond tree, he asked me what those furry fruits were and when can he eat them, i told him it was an almond tree and that they ripen from the top down and to let me know when he sees them split open, long story short, he never said a word and they are ready to go! 

i gathered a basket and went to my little gazebo to enjoy shelling my almonds in the cool of the morning...

i spread them on a screen to dry in the sun for a couple of days

i marked the date so i could layer them as i pick them this week

i put another screen over the top to keep the birds at bay

i saved the old husks...

to be used for mulch, not a thing was wasted.

while sitting at my table i was overwhelmed with nature, this big fat bumblebee dived into the rue blossoms not 12" from my shoulder, looked like she was swimming in pool, then shimmed her way out backwards.

several butterflies were busy grabbing nectar

but best of all were all the hummingbirds inspecting me! I was invading their domain, one baby came within a couple of feet of me over and over, then settled on the gazebo at arms reach from me watching me shell the almonds, of course you never have the camera when you need it, but it was a very joyful morning in the garden!

after shelling the husks i left them to dry for a couple of weeks in the sun