sorrel summer

I am growing sorrel for the first time ever and loving it.

I have no idea how I lived this many years without this herb/vegetable. Much like spinach in it's quick cooking time, but with huge leaves like kale or chard, and a lemony tangy taste I love, love, love. I read that it's better when the leaves are small but I haven't really noticed that. I have also read that by mid summer it's bitter and 'over'. But I haven't let it flower and it still seems yummy to us.

I can't wait to get some salmon and try this pesto recipe on it.

I am not sure if it will winter over here in MN but I know I will want some of it every year. It is wonderful. I even go out in the heat to pick it when I want that tang.

so stupid

Not to be down on myself, but the heat brings out my stupidity.

I get hungry but I can't, don't eat. I can barely make myself move and I can't remember to do the one thing that helps when things get really bad [soak my head in cold water]

It's been surreal. Would I eventually acclimate if we had this weather for long periods? Or would I spend weeks in a daze of heat related dullness?

I hope I don't have to find out this summer.

aspiration?

I am water.
I am the thorn that catches someone’s clothing...

There’s nothing to believe.
Only when I quit believing in myself did I come into this beauty...

Day and night I guarded the pearl of my soul.
Now in this ocean of pearling currents, I’ve lost which was mine.

-Rumi

cherries are coming

The cherry harvest has started. It seems late but July is a traditional time for cherries after all. The weather is being sweet for a couple of days, low dew points, lower temps and now I have a reason to turn on my oven...Clafoutis! This year my goddaughter will be around to try it so that means I'll be pitting my cherries.

We have also been scurrying around in the garden getting ready for my wife's party and taking advantage of the cooler temps we have right now. The paths in the new herb garden are all done. The flowers, vegetables and weeds are all growing like weeds. The food thanks to our favorite restaurant and my two sisters in law is all planned. The cakes are ordered. Hopefully the waterfall can be fixed by the party, though I wonder if anyone will brave the heat to go look at it.

Tomorrow we may get flooding rains and then the tropics come back so we are firmly living in the moment!

I hope you can find something sweet about July to help increase your joy. Peace out.

the heat just wows

Although I am no stranger to hot muggy summer weather July has been challenging me. In a way I feel less sensitive to it than I have in the past but then I realize that my brain seems to have vacated my head in a new way.

Which probably means that it's bothering me more but I don't have the brains left to notice it.

Which is a good thing? Maybe. My muscles sure loosen up quickly in this weather, so that's a plus.

Thanks to mobile phones I can check the weather in my neighborhood whenever I want and laugh. I am also realizing the heat island effect is alive and well this year.

The official high yesterday was 92, but it was 100+ for hours in my neighborhood and with the tropical dew points it felt hotter than that. And now my melted brain can't remember if 'hotter' is really a word...

back to coddling my sore hip, keep chill all.

even more sporadic

As soon as I gave myself permission for 'snippet summer' my home computer died an ugly death.

It was like it knew.

July continues to be muggy and full and wonderful and buggy.

Late last night my goddaughter and her dear mother arrived and already the house is a different place. My goddaughter is 2.5 now and every time I see her she is a different child in a different stage. She is very articulate now but can still be surprised by a nectarine pit.

It's fun seeing the world through her eyes again. I wonder what her first memory will be.

first day of busy weekend

Feel free to laugh hollowly if you live down south and are used to [or suffer from] extreme heat frequently but Friday was really something weather-wise. In there city it was 102 with a heat index of 117 and I just about melted.

Not realizing how hot it was going to get, after work I did a mini garden tour on foot with some friends in the neighborhood. It was fun showing off my garden with the half completed herb garden but even more fun was walking through the neighborhood, looking at other yards and seeing other people's gardens.

The first was an entrancing jungle of plants all around a fabulous 3 sided screened room. The clematis, the kind with the more delicate small flowers, twining with the roses were wonderful. And there maybe some clematis cuttings in my future.

The second had some of the most fabulous hostas, with leaves the size of hubcaps, giving the space a lush tropical feel.

It was amazing to see all the different ways people 'see' their yards and gardens. And even more wonderful to enjoy them without having to work on them.

Both gardens had wisteria, which I love. That makes 3 times this year I have seen a wisteria in the neighborhood doing well so I am going to try one, I have confidence now that it can work.

I hope there is a shady, fragrant spot in your life if you need it.

snipping summer

Recently I have been thinking a lot about writing and my blog. When I am far away from a computer, I frequently think of stuff I want to write about here or new scenes for my novel. But usually I don't even jot the idea down.

Perhaps I am falling into a belief that writing needs to be dense and long? So in order to squeeze writing back into this very busy summer I am declaring this 'snippet summer'. The idea being quick short bursts of posts, just to keep the juices flowing. I may even time myself to 5 minutes or less. This works well during nanowrimo so why not now?

Speaking of snipping the roses need to be dead-headed, so it's back outside. If it's a holiday for you then happy fourth!