August Idyll

Bringing summer indoors.

Ah, the quiet heat of August. At this point in the summer I no longer care about weeding. I tell myself weeds are improving the ground (they are, really) and shading our sun-parched soil.

Besides, we have to muster up the energy to start canning soon.

Daily tomato pickings.

Including these cheeky ones.

We’re eating lots of kale, chard, new potatoes, and cukes. Powdery mildew is already rampaging through my squash plants, but they’re still producing a few zucchini here and there.

Beans. So many beans!  We’re eating them in salads, stir fries, and making them into dilly beans. Some I leave on the vine to mature so I can shell and dry them for winter use and for next year’s seeds.

Here’s today’s haul, ready to turn into supper.

Every year I make fresh new gardening mistakes. This year a few rows of seedlings kept washing away in all our spring storms. I’d grab some seeds and start over, often in haste, not always keeping track of which row I was replanting with what. That explains why we have (ahem) three substantial rows of rutabagas. Yeah, we’ll be eating lots of those.

Milkweed is doing its caterpillar-luring thing.

Sunflowers are popular with pollinators.

Make that doubly popular.

Queen Anne’s lace is bobbing and curtsying in the wind.

The noble thistle is doing its bristly best to improve the soil.

And I’ve given up pulling Joe pye weed. In part that’s because they grow deep roots very quickly, making them practically impossible to pull out. I’ve decided they’re wildflowers and enjoy their lovely blooms.

While watering yesterday I happened upon this malva, overlooked and nearly parched to death. I’m heartened to see that, even though its leaves are reduced to lacework, it’s still budding and blooming. Nature is full of hope. (Yes, I watered it!)

In my opinion, the best way to spend time outdoors in August is by reading on a shady porch or under a friendly tree, cool glass of something at hand. That’s where I’m headed. Right. Now. Hope you are too.