Garden and Other Thoughts

 No matter how many summers we have a veggie garden, it is always a different experience.  In fact, I've begun referring to it as an experiment every year.  Nothing is ever the same, even if we plant the very same variety of veggies.  The weather is a big factor and something we have zero control over.

Five minutes after picking.

The Husband has been thoroughly enjoying the sugar snap peas - we've even shared a few with others.  I thought they were tough this year. The strawberries seem to be finally hitting their stride in terms of growth, but still are producing few berries.  Though, frankly, I expected that for this first year.  We put in a giant pumpkin plant.  It has a single pumpkin on it and it's so far anything but giant.  The cantaloupe vine has one melon that is almost ready to pick and several others in various sizes and stages.  Hopefully we'll get at least a couple decent ones. 

But the corn.... Am even now shaking my head about the corn.  The first sowing didn't even sprout.  The second one is now tall, with ears ready to bring in.  So last night's dinner was freshly picked corn on the cob.  It was gone just minutes after we said the blessing on the food.  We enjoyed tomatoes and cucumbers also from our garden (I think I'm turning into a cucumber, we've had such a bountiful harvest.) and a locally sourced watermelon (thank you Harward Farms).   Aah, the true benefit of that summer heat - fresh from the backyard dinner.  And lunch.  We keep giving away the extras, I hate for it to go to waste.  

Three minutes later.

I've considered pickling the cucumbers even though they aren't really the pickling kind.  Everyone raves over homemade salsa and I've done my share in the past as a way to use all the tomatoes.  We hardly ever eat salsa anymore, though.  I actually think I prefer to give away whatever extra we have.  I'd rather be generous to someone who doesn't have a garden this summer. Most people have been quite appreciative and what I don't know about how they use or dispose of the veggies is fine with me.  I'd rather not know.  Just rather know that I've tried to be kind and share what we have.

The heat feels fierce today.  With a hot, hot, hot wind.  Hopefully it will clear the smoke from our air.  I prefer to breathe cleaner air when we walk in the morning. The film we put on the stairwell windows has dramatically reduced the heat coming in there. The next project is the front door.  We're waiting this very minute for someone to show up to talk to us about it.  It looks like a multi-step project.  Hope our social security stretches far enough.

And the new yoga teacher is still a question mark in my mind.  Her manner is, of course, very different. Less warm and welcoming, more distant and emphatic (and that's not really the right word, she's brusque and less smooth in her movements but it's hard to explain).  It's difficult to move past how our previous yoga teacher was treated by this facility even if it isn't the new teachers fault. 

And I'm about ready for a trip to the Farmer's Market.  I try to go every year.  This year I'm on a quest for a certain kind of jam.  Was gifted some from that market a few years ago.  Found some when we were in Oregon and it's almost gone now, even though I feel like I rarely have jam. So I must replenish the supply.  And who knows, maybe we'll find something else fun as well.  

I'm so grateful today for air conditioning.  And for being careful with the watering of the lawn so much that we saw a reduction of 1/3 on our water bill and our lawn isn't looking near as bad as some of them around.  I have hope for this ugly drought to end, along with the seemingly endless wildfires and horrid smoky air as a result of them.  And have gratitude that I can still find hope in spite of the endless stream of less-than-pleasant news on the tv and the internet.  I want to be hopeful.