Month: August 2012

No Love, No Tomatoes

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My garden failed this year.

I’d love to blame it on the rain, the lack thereof, the heat, the mosquitoes, the moon, or anything else besides the damn truth; neglect.  My summer days started spinning around June and picked up speed as life progressed.  Yes, there was blossom-end rot to contend with and an exceptional number of bugs, beetles, and critters this year but those things probably could have been dealt with had I chosen to get out there and do it.

I am feeling rejuvenated though and ready to focus on fall planting. Yesterday I pulled all the sad and ugly tomato plants out and prepared for the plethora of greens I hope to harvest all winter long.

What can I make with these besides fried or chutney?!

We put this deck in under the black walnut tree after all the nuts fell last fall…we may be in for a very loud couple of months!

Peppers, flowers, herbs, and a precious few tomatoes are the only things I’m harvesting these days.

I am doing a little seed-saving this year!  In many cases I know that it’s easier/more reliable to just buy new seeds every year but there is something self-sustaining and lovely about saving seeds.

Asparagus beans on the left, yellow watermelon on the right.

Tomorrow is the first time in months that I will be in town for our local market and I am looking forward to supplementing my pathetic crop.   I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a deal on a box of cucs, I want to make some pickles!

 

Back to School

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So long Summer.

You were a fucking blast but as they say, “all good things must come to an end”, “to every thing there is a season”, and something about white after Labor Day.

Yes, there are still officially three weeks left but the garden is ready for Fall planting and it’s back to a busy teaching schedule for me after a light one all Summer.  Today was my first day at Piedmont Virginia Community College teaching Modern dance and it made me very excited for the semester. I’ve got a great crop of students and we’re going to have fun together, I can feel it.

I can also feel that this is going to be a busy and exciting Fall, lots of teaching, lots of dancing, and several adventures already in the works.

First though, it’s time for a Summer tally.

Let’s see how I did on my list…

I swam in several a watering hole.

I ran, naked and laughing, into the ocean at night.

I finally caught two shooting stars just the other night and I was indeed sleepy.

Spicy margarita making perfection will have to be put on hold until next year, I didn’t have a single one all Summer!  I opted instead for PBR. 😉

I flew down hills on my bike, probably flashing folks along the way until I learned that boxers under skirts make well-ventilated bike shorts.

Sadly, I seemed to be in denial about the state of mosquitoes in this town when I wrote about meals on the deck and reading in the shade.  I killed three in one swat the other day.

This is the first time in well over a year that I don’t have a single green to pick in the garden but for a few lovely weeks in July I went to the store only to replenish the fridge staples; yogurt, cheese, and eggs.

It only happened twice but those early morning runs were glorious!

There was plenty of watermelon, only this time around it was mashed up with mint and plenty of rum. 🙂

And fantasy, fiction, and reality definitely each had their place.

What was your Summer highlight?