Hot Times

It's hot. And humid.

I do not like July. It is my least favorite month of the year, and as far as I can see it's only redeeming features are the family birthdays this month, and the wildflowers all along the roadsides. The butterfly weed has been especially thick.

 

Daisies are one of my favorite flowers--so undemanding, so perfect.

My begonias were getting leggy in the heat, so I pruned them back a little, and enjoyed the clippings in a small windowsill bouquet.

We're in the upper 80's all this week, and it looks like next week will just be a repeat. Ugh.We get out early to do what we need to do, then I stay indoors to work and Larry...well, he's in and out, but mostly on the back porch where he has a big antique fan that keeps him comfortable. We've managed to catch up on the string-trimming (me), weedeating and mowing (him) that was close to getting out of hand since we were away most of last week at the flea market.

We've about cleared up the clutter that we dragged home from the sale, too--it's almost more work to sort it all and figure out where to put it than it is to pack it up and haul out! We took several totes to the Goodwill, took a couple vanloads back to our booths and restocked there, and now there are just two pieces of furniture I bought at the sale and some random chairs to be put away. The house, as well as the gardens, is slowly returning to what passes for normal here.

This year the gardens are much slower coming along than last year. That's a blessing, really, with this heat. Last year by this time I was making pickles almost every day. We still have lots of pickles left, a good thing since the cukes are just now starting to produce. I put up a canner-load of beans and froze about the same amount, and Larry pulled the onions today and spread them out to dry. Tomorrow, I think he plans to dig the carrots. We need to replant a few areas but I'm not feeling too motivated. I just don't handle heat like I used to, that's a fact.

I am ready to get back to painting furniture now that the major pressures of performances and the flea market are over. I have a few storytelling things coming up in the next few weeks, but only one or two of them will require major study and planning. So I am feeling like I can relax a little, at least for a week or so. I got back to putting up ebay listings today;sales have been good even though I've neglected listing new items for a while. Time to get back into it--I'll need the dollars for my trip to England in August!

That's about all that's going on here--staying cool is at the top of the list each day, and we mostly manage it. I hope you're able to do the same!

Kitchen window at night

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