Today is the day I “gird up my loins” & wade into the garden. We have had such brutal heat, I have stayed out and worked on projects in the house (4 knitted shawls, set up a new Chromebook for mom, pickled some cherry tomatoes, prepped jalapenos for jelly, etc). Mom has picked tomatoes as she needed them, but there are still many on the vine.
Currently:
- the pepper bushes (all of them) are breaking down because the branches are so loaded with peppers
- the spaghetti squash probably has 10 that need picking & it’s still blooming, plus there are some tall weeds in the middle of the patch that should be removed. There is a baby bunny that has taken up residence in the patch - great place to hide from the young red-shouldered hawk that is hanging around
- the dahlias have broken branches that need to be trimmed off
- the old dead cuke vine needs to be cleaned out
- last but not least, the tomato patch ... ripe need picking, rotten need to go on the compost pile, & I need to get some netting up since the crows have figured out there’s enough room in that particular spot for them to fly inside the fence & get to the tomatoes
- the areas that don’t have shingles down under the wood chips need major weeding - it’s a jungle in spots
Whew! Then comes dealing with the produce i.e. canning (including about 45 jars of jelly & that’s before the figs come in!), freezing, making up dishes to freeze, etc.
It’s so dry right now, I don’t have to mow the fields, but the yard/entrances may need it this weekend. The mower needs servicing badly & I just got the battery wires to replace the multiple ones with corroded terminals on mom’s golf cart. Our ‘road trip’ truck is in the shop getting a new AC $compressor$ & might be coming home today ... mom’s car has 4 new tires & the 23 yo old PU passed inspection & got an oil change .... all the vehicle stuff has happened in the last 2 weeks. The guy at the repair shop & I are on good terms at this point - he may be getting jelly for Christmas!
That’s all, folks ... coffee is finished & I am off to the ‘jungle’ ... “lions & tigers & bears, oh my!” - no telling what’s hiding in there.
Happy Hunting! :)