Sunday, September 17, 2017

reflecting on summer


At the grocery store it suddenly hit me:
I haven't tasted watermelon even once this year, and it's nearly apple season!

We didn't have a Summer this year in my neck of the woods. We really didn't. What we had was a Mud Season that went on and on and on, and simultaneously became what is known in Massachusetts as "wick-id haht." All the paddocks have been awfully wet, and the little barn paddock never dried out - ever! It's still muddy and slippery despite the hay "stepping stones" I recently threw down in desperation so I could get to the various shelters and feeders with less risk of falling. Like their goatherd, the goats also step carefully from spot to spot on the hay, and not because they are silly or "spoiled," in fact, just the opposite. These goats have the survival sense to try to keep their feet from becoming diseased due to constant exposure to moisture. And I appreciate this trait, because although I do my best to keep up with frequent checks and trims, if we get all the way to Winter with healthy hooves this year it will be some kind of miracle.

Campion feels that his hooves are PERFECT and he would appreciate it if I would please STOP checking and trimming because it involves a human (me) Touching His Feet! UGH!!

Continuing with the theme "Summer, Lack Of": a few words about the gardens. if you've been reading Comptonia for more than a year - and I know some of you have been reading it since the beginning for which I thank you very much - you know I put a lot of determined effort into growing as much of my own food as possible. It's important to me economically and from a health perspective.

Well, if I was genuinely dependent upon what I grow to get me through the Winter, this is without doubt the Winter I would starve. The relentlessly rainy months made planting difficult for the gardener, and growing a challenge for the plants. After finally managing to plant - and trellis - about 40 feet of pole bean rows, I harvested a total of two and a half handfuls - literally - of beans this year. The okra is about a foot high now. My fingers are crossed for the Candy Roaster squash which are currently in valiant flower, as are the Suyo Long cucumbers. If you look closely, you may see a tiny cucumber on this vine:



Even the hardy perennial flowers have struggled, and I've been sketching and painting here at home more often than in the woods this year, in appreciation. Below are a few days from #DrawingAugust, each done either just before or just after a rainstorm, in a little spot between the perennial gardens and the stilt barn.

This folding chair has been kept in the stilt barn, dusty but dry,
and ready to set up for a quick session with watercolors or pen:


If you were sitting in that folding chair and looked down by your feet,
you would see these violet leaves:


If you then turned your head slightly to the left, your eye-level view would be a wild tangle of hyssop, bee balm, and goldenrod:


When the mosquitoes forced your retreat to the porch,
you might endure them for one more minute while you stand and dab a watercolor sketch of this unidentified butterfly enjoying the bee balm:


Even though it hasn't been a Summer, these past few months have provided occasional sunny moments and, eventually, precious and colorful flowers for which I am deeply grateful. More than once a drenched but stalwart daylily was the highlight of morning and evening chores.

And in case you missed it in the picture above, here is a closer look at a tiny cucumber with flower still attached, tucked back behind the stem:


Fingers crossed!
~~~~~

14 comments:

  1. Did you see my blog post showing my entire tomato harvest for the year? One. So you are ahead of me with enough beans for two hands!

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    1. Ha! No, I hadn't seen that. Thank goodness for flowers, eh?

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  2. Even here in Philly, I am just now getting peppers off a plant I started in June. I had a ton of tomatoes from 2 plants, and then everyone seemed to take August off, even though the weather in August was pretty tomatoey. Definitely wet, cold May and June threw everything off. The only thing constant for me has been the cukes, but maybe because I grow a variety that are meant to be only 5-6 inches. Or, just luck!

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    1. Glad your cukes did well! Last Summer I was eating cucumber salad every single day - so refreshing. Loved the Suyo Longs so I saved seeds, then planted all of them. Maybe I should have held onto a few just in case they are needed next year!

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  3. Yes, it has been a strange summer. June promised to be hot, and then that was it. I'm just wondering if we'll get all the warm weather in October?

    Go little cucumber!! lol

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  4. I know that you once lived in Colorado, and I must say that your gardens sound better than what I manage at 8200'! Of course, I've given up on anything that requires more than 60 days to maturity. I gaze longingly at cold frames and green houses every year but I haven't done it yet.

    I'm glad that your flowers blossomed so beautifully as I see in your artwork! And, I hope that the hooves stay healthy!

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  5. No summer here either, at least not when the calendar says it should have been. The past week has been glorious though and it's projected to be the same for this week too. At least now we can remember what summer SHOULD have been like! Our tomatoes (on the balcony) were dismal - they were supposed to be beefsteak but we only had about half a dozen that didn't turn black and they were the size of cherry tomatoes.

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  6. This week has felt like summer remembering to be summer. I took out the air conditioner during that cold spell. Go summer

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  7. You are a treasure! Just sent myself a note to grow Suyo Longs next year. Sorry your garden didn't do so well this year. Since we farmers all like to watch things grow, that is a disappointment. In Tennessee, I had one of my best growing years. I think some of that is because I switched to raised beds for my summer crops. I think it cut down on the number of bugs and diseases from the soil. There's always next year (our equivalent of a bad football season, I guess.

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    1. Judy, I hope you love the Suyo Longs as much as I do. I wrote about them at length last year - plug "suyo" into the sidebar search box if you'd like more info!

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  8. hyssop, bee balm and goldenrod...perfection! You've reminded me I've not had watermelon but once...must correct this week. All that rain and Kathy, Cedar Pond, has been 80 days without...feast or famine, eh? I'm looking forward to rain this week, need it desperately.

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    1. We had two very dry summers before this one, and last year was an actual drought...exactly the opposite this year. Feast or famine indeed.

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  9. I had a chuckle at the 'reflections' of summer ;) cute
    We had the same rainy, wet, muddy, summer. Most days started off outside, and then quickly retreating inside with the kids. Cushions were put out on the patio chairs, and hurriedly taken back to the shed on and off every single day. And cold. September it stopped raining all month, heat blew out of control and humidity returned like every Ontario summer. Crazy! Today was 31C, then a few clouds, high winds, and the temperatures dropped to 20C in 2 hours. I'm ready for fall, but when summer leaves in a couple of hours, you suddenly feel your head spinning.
    You have some nice summertime sketches to look back on once that cooooollllld stuff returns. Such good goats keeping their feet above the water line. Hope this week has been good to you!
    Wendy

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    1. Up until today, the past week has been hellacious...but today was heavenly!

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