Sometimes Ya Gotta Be Tough

And sometimes ya gotta be tougher than you really wanna be. I hadn't done a thorough picking in the strawberry patch for a couple/few days because it's been so darn hot out there . . . and I'm a hot weather wimp.

So last night I decided I would be up and out there at the crack of dawn (okay, maybe a little after the crack of dawn) and get the picking done before it got too hot today.

A little after the crack of dawn (okay, quite a bit after the crack of dawn) I was out with my bowls, audio book on tape and determined to get every last ripe strawberry picked and into the kitchen for processing before the sun had a chance to fry me.

Once out there I noticed . . . hmmm, no sun to be seen rising in the sky. Hmmm. Hazy, actually. And humid? Wowee, I'll say. Buggy? Eeeee-ow! The black flies were . . . what's a step up from vicious?

Back into the house to put on my bug shirt. Those strawberries were going to get picked.

I gotta admit, the bug shirt does its job. Nary a black fly feasted on my flesh after I donned my armor. Only trouble is even though the shirt is supposedly well-ventilated, it is HOT. At least under the totally still, windless, HUMID conditions in the strawberry patch this morning it was. Also, I don't feel I can see worth a diddle through the netting over the face part of the hood. (The netting is tightly woven stuff designed to keep out our dreaded no-see'ums, for which I am truly grateful. Really.) Plus (should I be whining so much about something that keeps me from losing a quart and a half of blood first thing in the morning?), I always feel a teensy bit claustrophobic being too "bound up" in the shirt and hood.

Well, as I say, sometimes ya gotta be a bit tougher than ya wanna be. I did it. Despite looking and feeling as if I was outfitted in a hazmat suit, I got all the ripe berries harvested. Three huge bowls full (each weighing in at about six pounds) sitting on the kitchen counter saying, "Clean me, clean me!" Gotta go get on that. But that's the easy part. No blood-thirsty bugs in here and the bug shirt has been put away.

Another Thunderstorm

We got another storm late this afternoon. Boy howdy, did it ever get dark! Long about 4:30, after listening to distant thunder for a couple of hours, the rains came with a vengeance. Our luck held, however, and even though we were warned to expect damaging hail again, the hail apparently wore itself all out farther to the west of us. All we got were winds and heavy rain. When all was said and done, the rain gauge showed 3/4 of an inch.

I knew the garden could use a good soaking today but after getting knocked wonky from too much heat and sun yesterday, I stayed in all day and tried not to think about the garden.

So the late afternoon rain storm was welcomed and appreciated. We're still under another severe storm watch until middle of the night . . . up until about 3 a.m. they say.

The temperature is finally dropping. It's a lovely 62 degrees (gosh, that feels down right chilly) outside.

With the help of our big garage exhaust fan . . .

. . . and by opening first this door . . .

. . . and then this door, we've got it down to 70 inside. Methinks I'll finally sleep better tonight. (The fan in the garage is doing such a good job of sucking the hot air out of the house, I've almost lost the bandana tied around my hair twice now!)

Tomorrow? Back up into the low 90s. With this afternoon's rain, at least now the garden will be in better shape to handle that. Hope the rain is finding those of you that still need it. We sure are grateful we're getting as much as we are.

P.S. Thunder boomers have just started again. Maybe we will get more rain tonight.

Okay, So I'm Not Very Bright

Our days continue to be broiling hot. We hit the low 90s again today and I worked out in the garden for part of the day. It may have been a mistake because I'm not feelin' so perky tonight. Nothing serious and I did make a point of stopping to drink a lot of water while roasting myself in the scorching sun so I'm sure I will survive. (As soon as I get rid of this headache and slight nausea.)

Papa Pea has a really hard time handling the heat when it's like it has been lately. It's a real physical thing with him. His mind and body get very logy and slow moving. So after taking our Suburban into town this morning to get the air conditioning worked on, he ran up a white flag of surrender and chose to spend the remainder of the day inside working on multitudinous projects that were calling for his attention.

Me? Well, ya know we dyed-in-the-wool gardeners just don't know when to quit. (Or when to stay out of the too-hot-to-handle heat.) I had a big amount of cuttings from our little hay field that ended up not being worth keeping for feed so I claimed them as mulch for the garden. In this weather, it was moldering and fast going to become rank so I wanted to spread it as soon as I could.

I got that done and was so hot, sweaty and dirty I figured I might as well thin the beets. And the kale. Then I did a quick run-through of the raised beds pulling all the stray weeds that had started to pop up.

The raspberry canes have been bugging me because they are so big and lush and loaded with developing berries that they needed to be re-tired so I could get in between the rows to pick when the time comes. That didn't prove to be such a bad job because the canes are so tall they actually provided a bit of a shady bower to work in.

However, by the time I finished that job, I was feeling a little woozy in da head so decided I'd had enough of working outside.

Tonight the temp inside our house is hovering around 77. That might not seem high to some of you, but it usually stays much cooler. Lots of humidity in the air today contributed to the heat being so intolerable.

If tomorrow is a weather repeat of today, I might just decide the garden is on its own and stay inside without venturing outside any more than I have to. See? I can make wise decisions . . . after being fried, boiled and baked.

The Garden Gives Thanks for the Rain

We were blessed late last night with a bit over an inch of wonderful rain. It was much needed and frees up some time for me today. I was planning on spending a good portion of the day setting up and moving sprinklers to water our parched garden and berry patches but now I don't have to.

For several hours last night we were under the threat of a severe thunderstorm, high winds and damaging hail. All of our windows were open in an effort to bring in the slightly cooling outside air. We listened to rolling thunder in the distance for about an hour and a half before the storm hit with rain, wind and a lot of commotion! How it was possible I don't know, but all of a sudden rain was blowing in every single open window no matter the facing direction. The two of us must have looked like Energizer Bunnies running from one area to the other closing things up.

No hail fell and I'm truly surprised that we got as much rain as we did because although the storm was fierce, it didn't last very long. This morning our temp is way back up there, it's humid as could be and everything outside shows evidence of a good soaking.

Do you think these jack-o-lantern pumpkins have a chance of making it?

The peas don't seem to be progressing as fast as they should. 'Course, this is NOT pea growing weather!

On the other hand, it IS bean growing weather, and THEY don't seem to be progressing as fast as they should either.

I started these cosmos inside and although they have grown a lot since I set them out . . . come on, Flowers! Where are you?

The potatoes are starting to blossom which means I should be able to carefully pilfer a few new potatoes soon. We've been without taters for a very long time. I'd love to make some potato salad for the 4th of July, but it may be pushing it a bit to do so. Patience, Mama Pea, patience.

Our humidity was high yesterday, too. Some of my laundry hanging outside on the line didn't dry so knowing the storm was predicted, I threw the last of the damp things in the dryer. I had planned on washing sheets today, but I'm wondering if even they wouldn't dry outside in this still air and heavy humidity.

Sorry so many of you still need rain and didn't get it as we did. Hoping a good soaking is heading your way soon. I know you desperately need it.

First Preserves

I got our first good-sized harvest of strawberries yesterday. Plans were to make them into strawberry jam but the day got away from me so last night I put them in the freezer to use in smoothies. (A very quick and easy way to process them. I don't add any sugar, honey or sweetener of any kind . . . just the mashed berries in a freezer container.)

These three bowls were full of cleaned berries but after they were smooshed down, they filled just five quarts. But a quart lasts us for several smoothies because I make them with mostly kefir and/or yogurt and coconut milk with the berries for flavoring.

Last year I froze a dozen quarts of strawberries and that was about the right amount.

You've Heard of a "Farmer's Tan?"

I guess mine would have to be more correctly called a gardener's tan.

Dang. No way am I going to be able to wear my strapless evening gowns in the near future.