Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Looking Forward To Being Chilly Tonight

Well, it probably won't feel exactly chilly, but when the forecast is calling for an overnight low of 57 degrees, that sure will feel a lot cooler than it has been at night for a long time.

I wonder if this means our hot, humid weather is on the way out? We can only hope.

Papa Pea and I went out early this morning to work on getting some of the old raised garden beds replaced before it got too hot. We were only going to do one, but that first one went really well and since we had all the tools out we did two more before finally calling it quits somewhere around three this afternoon. (Nuthin' like working right through the hottest part of the day for maximum sweat production!)

The humidity didn't seem so heavy today so that helped keep us going. But I just now took the scarf off my hair in preparation for taking a shower and lo and behold, my hair is still damp from sweating and I've been inside for four hours!

I picked the first handful of ripe blueberries from our bushes today and gave them to Papa Pea as reward for working so hard on the raised bed project. They're just starting to ripen up now.

I'll be getting our first harvest of raspberries tomorrow. If all goes well, we should get a lot of them this year.

These first that have ripened seem to be individually bigger than I remember them being in past years.

I haven't canned raspberries for a few years, but hubby has put in a special request that I preserve some that way this year because he loves to drink the juice that is left after we eat the raspberries.

I'd like to do a garden tour with pictures to post soon. After seeming to do nothing for weeks, some of the veggies are finally starting to put on some size. I even saw a zucchini blossom tonight. The first one!

26 comments:

Carolyn said...

Yay for blueberries!!! My mostest favoritest berry of all :)

Misty Pines Homestead said...

Send some chill this way(Texas)!

Sparkless said...

I hope your weather stays in the comfortable range. I picked our first blueberries yesterday. Only got a handful and I ate them as fast as I picked them but they were delicious.
I want raspberries! I'll have to busy a bunch as soon as I can find some organic ones. I just got 25 lbs of pickling cucumbers that my mom and I are going to make pickles with so that should keep me busy.

Tombstone Livestock said...

Berries are looking good, glad your weather is cooling down, here it's down 10 degrees but going back up to 100's again soon.

Sue said...

Our weather finally broke, but no rain. NONE. It is dust down here, yet the garden is doing well. Makes no sense at all. I worked all morning out there weeding....it's amazing how ratty looking it gets after being "trapped" in the house this past week. I hate the weather this summer. Where are our upper 70's??? Oh, that's right,--we get them at night now...........
Blech!

Lisa said...

Sometimes it's easier just to keep going, than to stop and lose the momentum. We had less humidity here yesterday, and I kept telling Tom it was 'cooler'.... he kept reminding me it was 90 degrees...! I hope we have a long, cold winter this year, but in the meantime, I'm envious of your 57 nighttime degrees. I think ours are in the mid-70s.... but that feels a lot cooler than 90! :) LOVE your blueberry picture!!! Love your raspberry picture too!!! Both look so yummy. PLEASE do a garden tour soon.... I always enjoy your garden.

Anonymous said...

Wow, those raspberries look fab!! Can't say as I blame Papa Pea on the juice part :) Hope you cool down a little bit. It's been hot and humid here too.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

That is one huge raspberry all right! I hardly have any on my many bushes but I'm hoping that means they are late bloomers and will be ready when we return from our two weeks away.

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

I am coming up to sleep at your house tonight. I'll bring the homemade wine. I want to see if I remember what 57 feels like. Oh what a good night sleep I will get.

judy said...

looks delicious ,can't wait to get my sticky fingers on all your free produce---jk but what I really want is that 57 degree weather,so,Jane,pick me up on the way

Mama Pea said...

CR - Not mine! I had a bowl of fresh raspberries in cream for breakfast this morning and THAT, m'dear, was heaven on earth!

Mama Pea said...

Annnightflyer - Welcome and thanks for commenting. I sure would send you some cool air if I could. All I know is that it left here sometime very early this morning and we're back to hot-hot. But not so humid so it's more bearable.

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - I got involved with a project helping hubby this morning so I haven't picked my raspberries yet. I'm trying to get up enough courage to go out there in the heat and do it now. Wish me luck!

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - We've hit the high eighties so far today which, I know, is nothing compared to your 100s.

Mama Pea said...

Sue - So you haven't been watering your garden at all? I fluctuate between thinking I have to and then wondering if I do more harm when I do. We really, really all need a day's soaking rain!

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - Garden tour coming up for you. (I found a little four inch long pepper on one of my pepper plants this morning! This was amazing because the darn plants are hardly taller than that!)

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - You realize nary one of us suffering in the unusual heat this summer like you much right now because YOU LOVE THE HEAT! I think we are all gonna have to buy you a plane ticket and have you come to each of our houses to do the canning because YOU LOVE THE HEAT! ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Jen - There are lots of raspberries that are "fall-bearing" so that could very well be what you have. (They also might just need some TLC and fertilizer!)

Mama Pea said...

Jane - We'll leave the door open for your arrival. It only got down to 60 last night and guess who woke at 4:30 with her mind going a mile a minute and COULDN'T GET BACK TO SLEEP?! Oh, I was so frustrated!

The forecast for tonight is 58 but then they've also said we'd have a high today of 70 (pfft!) and it's already in the high 80s. Do these people have any idea what they're doing??

Mama Pea said...

judy - If I see the bushes rustling tonight and a flashlight out there, I'll not panic because I'll know it will be you picking . . . along with Jane stretched out on the cool grass.

Erin said...

Nice berries! I hope you enjoyed some open windows with that cool evening!

Akannie said...

Raspberries. Wow. Our blackberries are almost done already...and our weather has been outrageous...we're back in another heat wave of 102+ temps for another week or more..It's killing us.

Susan said...

What a relief! Those of us 'up North' are not used these sultry temps. Blech, I say! Those raspberries are just gorgeous! Geez, maybe I should come up with Jane and all and we could have a camp out! With berries!!!

Mama Pea said...

Erin - Our night last night (Friday) didn't cool off plus the humidity was awful. Toss and turn. Toss and turn. The forecast for the next week is hot, hot, hot. Where do we live? Alabama??

Mama Pea said...

Akannie - I must stop complaining about our temps hitting 90 during the day but dropping to the 70s at night. I'll bet you'd be happy with our weather for a while. Hang in there, Friend.

Mama Pea said...

Susan - I think the heat has finally gone to my brain. When I pick strawberries or raspberries or now blueberries, all I can think of is making them into wine. (Not that I know how.) Fill a glass with ice and pour in homemade wine . . . does that not sound like heaven?