July 21, 2008

Miracles DO happen. Andy hooked up a hose somehow and I can now water all of my 50,000 plants in 1/100th of the time. Ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had a few days off in a row and, of course, I am spending most of my free time up at the Green Hills Farm doing my best to weed, sort and triage assorted plants. We are heavy into full growing season now and although we have held tight to our vows to maintain, maintain, maintain, other things get in the way of continual progress ~ children, work, golf, fellowship … and my need for a few hours of air conditioning every so often. Back to the “city.”

I try so stoically to NOT let the heat get to  me, but it is hard. I will not go into the garden without wearing long pants and I have some comfortable pink oversized cotton pants that are not too hot. I like to sit or kneel between rows to weed and there are just too many bugs of every shape, color and size to go nekkid on the legs. I get bit to a pulp WITH long pants on! Lately, I am barely moving and the sun is beating hot on me and the sweat is pouring off.  And the skeeters are nipping and the biting flies are biting and the gnats are buzzing in my ears and sticking to my sunscreen and lipgloss.

Yes, it WOULD be easier to go to the supermarket and buy all of this produce, but can I tell you how GOOD it tastes? It is fresh and pure. There is no refrigerator aftertaste. It is ripe and crisp and if things like cucumbers even make it to the fridge for a chill, even better on a hot summer day. We eat sometimes as we pick. I sware, Andy is part gorilla!

Today it was an all garden lunch. I picked a huge head of napa cabbage and a small head of red. A couple of walla walla onions, tomatoes, including a couple of yellow pears,  and a good handful of basil. I prepped the cabbages and tomatoes on my Zyliss mandoline. Cabbage and onions were tossed with a chilled light poppyseed dressing. Tomatoes were sliced and sprinkled with fresh chiffinade of basil and drizzled with greek olive oil and sea salt and pepper. I made Andy some onion flatbread sticks and we had a feast ~ watching the news and sitting in front of a window fan.  We had golden raspberries for dessert.

Later I found that Andy had planted a rubber copperhead snake in the cooler and I screamed bloody murder and no one called 911! That was followed by a huge, hairy black spider that crawled out of a chair cushion on the deck.  And a green cricket in the daisies. I had never seen a green cricket. Very cool.

(I put the snake in the shower for him to find later. No response. Arg……………. he will take it and put it in my bed at some later date.)

Next few days are busy at QVC … look for me midnight Tuesday into Wednesday and at 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. that would be July 23. Next week is colonoscopy week. I will have some down time but be sure to check back in for my play by play on the procedure. My biological father has colon cancer. Time for this almost 47-year-old to get a base line. Not really worried they’ll find anything, but who knows.

Happy Wednesday!

mlk