Summer in Retrograde

Waited out a thunderstorm on the sitting porch with this little guy the other day.
I think he is a first year chick and not so very afraid of me.

We are slowly, two years in, getting used to life without dairy cows....except for the hay business, you could call it retirement. I scramble to send the Farm Side in days ahead of deadline so I can play outdoors the rest of the week (and the house clearly shows my preferences, believe me. It's bad enough in winter....but now...well, just don't look and we'll all feel better.)

Brome grass in bloom, but too wet to cut and too cold to dry

This means finally slowing down enough to match the rhythm of the garden and other assorted plants and giving them the attention they deserve. Gardening has been a real pleasure for the most part this year, except for the part about waiting for the cold to go away so we felt safe to plant.

And now, the weather is going backwards towards the cold again, with that big hatchet of icy air showing on the weather map, chopping down from the nation to the north, and making the beans and radishes shiver. Polar Vortex redux.

It is hard to know what to do....I had a nice routine of watering things in the morning before the rest of the world bestirred itself, and then weeding and maybe planting in the afternoon.

Now I heft each flower pot....light enough to be dry enough to water? Hmmm....hard to be sure. I don't want to get any nasty fungusy things going so I wait.

The boss ventured into the dark maw of the cellar last night to divert the hot water from the boiler, from just heating our bathwater to warming the house again. Feels good too! After all, they predicted snow for the High Peaks last night. 

Seriously? It's June. Honey badger don't care though and neither does the weather. As one of the stubbornest wearers of shorts I know (Except for Scott and Alan) I am in sweats and my favorite red flannel shirt.

The boss also unplugged the big freezer to thaw it out, as we sent the mean steer to freezer camp. To give you an idea of how nasty he was, I am still filled with trepidation about going over to the barnyard and he's been gone over a week......

Ah, well, I planted squash yesterday in the howling wind and the kids put the pumpkin and Zucchetta plants in the ground up in the back garden.

And today an Indigo Bunting sang just a foot or two from the office window, early, early, with only me to hear. I watched him for a while too...out-bluing the Bluebirds like it's his job.

I'm sure it will soon warm up, but for the past two years I have never turned on the little air conditioner upstairs.....anyone care to bet on making it three?

I wouldn't be surprised.