Meet Mr. Artichokey

Well, today was definitely busy and my back and shoulders are feeling it! My Dad brought his collection of scary powertools and his pick-up and trailer over, and we spent the day cutting back a hedge in the backyard that had become incredibly overgrown. (Like, 14 feet tall in parts!).

Those branches may look thin and twiggy, but I promise you, it took all of us to haul the suckers out to the trailer and this was only part of the first load.

Little Sprout thought climbing in the branches was far more fun than cleaning up the back yard! Actually she was worried there might be bird's nests in the branches (a possibility I never considered, I shamefully admit) but after careful inspection, they were deemed nest-free and good to go. I think our cats discourage many bird residences in the back yard...

Dad's coming back for another load in a couple days. I am so happy (and thankful) to get that stuff out of my back yard. We can actually see the sunshine now!

Later that evening, we stopped by a produce stand for some veggies, and found this GIGANTIC artichoke. My Little Sprout was quite fascinated by the thing and begged me to buy it. She named it "Mr. Artichokey" and carried on quite a conversation with it (him?) on the way home.
Sorta made me wonder if we should eat it.
But hunger won out, and we cooked it for dinner, (which she didn't seem to mind, thank goodness) and three of us split the thing, with extras left over.
It may have been the largest artichokey ...I mean...artichoke we've ever seen, but it was SOOOO yummy, and considering it took over an hour to steam, I was really surprised at how very flavorful and tender it was!

No recipes, too tired to be creative tonight - just thought I'd share the pictures... Have a great weekend!