No matter what time of the year, making lunch starts with going out into the garden and vegetable beds to see what looks good today. Invariably, these ventures include a foray by the pond. What’s the point of going out to the garden if I’m not going to enjoy the pond? The cattails are forming their thick, bushy tails. By the end of summer they will turn to fluff. Come next spring, birds will use this fluff to line their nests.

Along the way I spot a welcome garden snake. They are plentiful this year and do a great service keeping the rodent populations down.

And I’m back in the kitchen with a bowel of fresh greens and eggs to make a simple, summer lunch. Gathering your lunch ingredients is stressless compared to going grocery shopping.