Summer's Here

We had so much rain this spring that the farmers had trouble getting in the hay. Finally they managed to get enough dry days to cut it and let it sit in these Zen garden patterns for a day before it was collected and baled.

WARM WEATHER FINALLY ARRIVED, but much later than usual, around the middle of July. And even now it's cooler and less humid than previous summers have been. The rain and cool weather caused great fear for the strawberry crop. But, as you can see from the photo below, the strawberries did arrive as they always do, in time for "strawberry suppers" held in church basements all over Nova Scotia. So that you can have a taste of all this joy, I've posted information on how to make Nova Scotia-style old-fashioned strawberry shortcake at the food blog.

Nova Scotia strawberries in season. I rinse them, slice them, and mix them with a quarter cup of sugar per pint. Those that don't get eaten go into the freezer.

Beyond eating strawberries, Tim and I have become less active as the weather has grown warmer. It's a symptom of how lethargic I've become that there are so few pictures with this month's post. (What, no photos of the ducks and dogs? I'm sure you're all heart broken!)

I'm proud of having used my new-found skills as a blogger to help out two worthy organizations, both of which were in need of websites. The Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association is the oldest woodlot-owner organization in the province, dedicated to sustainable and ecologically sensitive management of our forests. Green Gatherings is a newly created local grassroots organization that wants to inform rural Maritimers about global warming.

Other than that, I kept working on the garden as long as the weather cooperated, and Tim created a very nice drainage ditch for us to take rainwater away from the house. I'm proud to say that Tim seems to have gotten healthier with every month that he's lived here since arriving from Los Angeles two years ago. It's remarkable what physical activity, good food, and low stress can do.

Now that the weather has turned warm, the tomato plants are finally starting to become worthy of their tomato cages. For more on the garden, see the gardening blog.

That long stretch of rock is the top of a very nice drainage ditch, dug and filled by Tim. The weeds are all mine.

But of course, the big news from the farm, already known to most people we know, is that Tim and I are getting remarried--or, as I've been saying, de-divorced--at the end of the month. It will be a simple ceremony with a justice of the peace and two witnesses, our dear neighbors and long-time friends George and Sharon O'Leary, in our own living room. The decorations will be whatever flowers are blooming, even if they're weeds. The bride will wear whatever's clean. The bridal party will be confined.* We'll repair to the local restaurant and farm market for a meal, where we'll be joined by another dear friend and neighbor who has invited us back to her house for cake. We will drink something cheap, celebratory, and fizzy.

If you would like to join us in spirit, please do. On July 28, lift a glass and have a piece of cake and know that we always have our friends with us in our hearts.

* As is appropriate for a bridal party consisting of two dogs, four ducks, and a 20-year-old cat.