Thursday, August 31, 2006

It's Raining!

Yay! It's raining; it's pouring; the old man is snoring...

Well, not yet. Anyway, after the coolness came, the hotness came back along with the humidity. I got the worse flu ever; the garden fizzled from the prolonged drought and I felt like if it didn't rain soon my head would explode.

So, it's raining. The house is getting cleaned and sorted. Wash is being done. Fruit is getting processed.

Tomorrow there is the promise of cooler temperatures. In the meantime, here's a neat story about the Minnesota State Fair and farm kids: http://www.slate.com/id/2148618/ for your entertainment.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Coolness Came

Someone turned down the blast furnace and it's cooler. It rained!

The garden and I were both ready to throw in the towel when we turned the corner. Vegetables immediately began to develop again; there are even rosebuds on the poor neglected rose bush. I've been weeding with gusto now that I'm not drenched in sweat after twenty minutes.

My mind turns to chores like cleaning out barns and poultry houses. It can be done now. I can breathe and move. I'm hoping this will last.

I'm picking and selling peaches at the market. I've made two batches of peach chutney, peach pie filling, and peach cake. There are still blackberries to pick -- the thornless variety -- it seems like sissy work. This morning I noticed that there are apricots ready. The cucumbers are abundant and I see some relish in my future.