Green Beans

Claude Miles of Log Lick Road tills a section of his garden for planting half runner green beans.

Looking to add greens to your  meal plan  this summer? Well choose green beans! While green beans, are available year round, they are perfect for picking and at their peak from April to August, thus making them the least expensive and freshest during this time of year. Green beans are in the same family as kidney beans and black beans. They are easy to grow and thrive even in the poorest of soils, thus making them a popular crop grown all over the United Sates and all around the world.

Lincoln High and Middle Salad bar, fruit and dessert served daily. Monday: chicken pattie, scalloped potatoes, green beans and carrots. Tuesday: sandwich plate or corndog, pasta salad and vegetable trimmings. Wednesday: manager's choice. Lincoln elementaries Monday: chilidog or hot dog, baked beans and potato wedges. Tuesday: sandwich, mashed potatoes and green beans. Wednesday: chicken nuggets, peas, carrots and potatoes.

Middle and High School Monday: Chicken pattie or chuckwagon on bun, veggie trimmings, glazed carrots, buttered noodles, fruit, and milk. Tuesday: Hamburger Helper, Texas toast, green beans, baked potato, fruit, and milk. Elementary Schools Monday: Chicken strips, hot rolls, vegetable medley, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, cookie, and milk. Tuesday: Lasagna, tossed salad, bread sticks, green beans, applesauce, dessert, and milk.

There are changes to the menu at Bate Middle School for Monday and Tuesday. Served on Monday will be roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed vegtables and rolled fruit. Served on Tuesday will be chicken or shrimp poppers, macaroni and cheese, green beans and rolled fruit.

BOYLE Boyle High Monday: burrito and rice, pizza or chicken nuggets and toast or bean and corn salad, whipped potatoes, peas and garden salad. Tuesday: chicken and dumplings, taco salad, toast or corndog or chilidog, broccoli, refried beans, baked potato and pineapple. Wednesday: quesadilla, pizza or chicken salad, chips and corn, green beans and applesauce. Thursday: turkey wrap, meatball sub or chicken and baked beans, potato selection, pasta salad, orange slices and banana pudding.

Now that we've had our new dog, Mozzie, for a few months, I've been educating myself on puppy safety. I knew that chocolate can upset dogs' stomachs or even kill them. In fact, I had first-hand experience from my childhood when our family dog decided to be sneaky on Valentine's Day and eat a whole heart-shaped box of chocolates. She got very sick, but thankfully, she recovered. Also, I've known for a long time that chicken bones are bad for dogs because they can splinter inside them and do damage to their internal organs.

The summer, now ending, has been unusually hot and dry. We experienced a severe drought, and it had a profound effect upon the growing season. On many days, the temperature crossed the 100-degree mark, and there was little rain. But during the unusually hot season, my heart was genuinely warmed.  On numerous occasions during the summer, the rear doorbell or the front doorbell rang. When I answered, a kindhearted neighbor, friend, or family member, with a big bag in hand, was there.

The weather was much more comfortable on Saturday, so we had a wonderfully busy day at the farmers market. With the much needed rain this past week, everything began to grow and ripen. Tables were filled with beautiful, red local tomatoes. The flavors and colors of summer are here. Stop by our booths on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to check out all the great things our market has to offer. We have a bigger variety of vegetables and fruits every day now. Look for these goodies in the coming week: Vegetables and fruits: blackberries; cantaloupe; corn; cucumbers; eggplant; fresh herbs; green beans - roma, tenderette and jade; shiitake mushrooms; green onions; peaches; potatoes; raspberries; summer squash - yellow, patty pan and zucchini; tomatoes; and watermelons.

Summer is in full swing now. Saturday's weather was sunny and warm. The market was filled with people from early in the day and into the afternoon. Tables were loaded with local blueberries and blackberries. Local cucumbers, summer squash and tomatoes are also coming in. The Boyle County Farmers' Market can now accept Senior Vouchers. Look for signs at approved booths, if you would like to use your vouchers to purchase fresh products. Stop by our booths on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to check out all the great things our farmers market has to offer.

Well, I had my visit with my second cousin, Della Oaks, on Monday. I couldn't have chosen someone from my family history to have visited to get my history juices rolling more than her.  It turns out she is as hungry to learn more about my family as I was, so another meeting with other cousins is taking place. Della's father, Nelson Willoughby, was injured in the war, but it was a heart attack that took his life. Della was only 7 years old at the time, and her brother, Nelson, was born a month or two after his death.

Senior citizens menu  The Boyle County Senior Citizens menu this week is as follows: Tuesday: hotdog with chili, ranch beans, chuckwagon corn and banana. Wednesday: beef patty with brown gravy, green beans, fiesta potatoes, orange and whole wheat bread. Thursday: turkey pot pie, herbed carrots, broccoli with lemon sauce, cranberry fluff and wheat bread. Friday:¿chicken pomodoro, peas with onions, cauliflower with carrots, citrus lime mold and wheat bread.

The Heart of Danville Farmers Market will be set up Tuesdays and Thursdays across from Save-A-Lot on Lexington Road in the old Mini Mart lot. Hours are 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. On Saturdays, the farmers market will be set up at the U.S. Bank parking lot at Fourth and Main streets; hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Hilltop Kitchen will not be set up Saturday - our grandson, Camden, is having a birthday party. He will be 2 years old.  This week look for: fried apple pies; Hilltop Kitchen jams and salsa; local honey; orange blossom honey; and sourwood honey.

The Heart of Danville Framers Market will be set up Tuesday and Thursdays across from Save-A-Lot on Lexington Road in the old Mini Mart lot. Hours are 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. On Saturdays, the farmers market will be set up at the U.S. Bank parking lot at Fourth and Main streets; hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. This week look for: fried apple pies; Hilltop Kitchen jams and salsa; local and sourwood honey Fresh: blueberries; cabbage; cantaloupes; cucumbers;...

Storms came rolling in just as we set up on Saturday. Everyone battened down and sat out the first wave of rain, thunder and lightening.  After a couple of hours, it finally slowed down enough to open our tents. By lunchtime, the sun peeked out again.  Even though it would have been nice to have the storms hold off until later in the afternoon, the farmers in our group weren’t complaining. Our gardens had become dry very quickly in the 90-plus degree days that we have had consecutively for the past few weeks.

Looking to add greens to your  meal plan  this summer? Well choose green beans! While green beans, are available year round, they are perfect for picking and at their peak from April to August, thus making them the least expensive and freshest during this time of year. Green beans are in the same family as kidney beans and black beans. They are easy to grow and thrive even in the poorest of soils, thus making them a popular crop grown all over the United Sates and all around the world.