Woke Up To Rain

Okay now, that's more like it.  It's always rainy on Memorial Day weekend, if it isn't going to turn chilly (and it isn't going to) then it can at least rain.  I looked at the radar on TV, there was a narrow band of showers with a bit of thunder and it slid right across us.  I'll bet that it didn't rain a drop five miles north or south of us, but since I got my tomatoes and flowers (well, most of those anyway) planted yesterday I am just as happy to have help watering.  I moved my broken park bench out from under the honeysuckle this year and put it next to the shed.  This morning I saw that I can't rely on Mother Nature to water those flower pots, they're nestled against the house under the eaves, so it'll be hose water for them.  Three of the four kettle pots will get moved to their summer home in front today and I want to drag Durwood to another nursery today to see about getting more herb plants because I do want to plant some by the tomatoes to see if basil enhances the tomato flavor.  I might have to resort to seeding some but I can do that, no problem.  The place I want to go today (darned if I can remember the name) is tucked off a main street behind an auto parts store.  It's so fleeting (only there until the plants are gone) that it doesn't even have a phone number but they've been around a long time and have fabulous plants.


DIL1 and I were talking about planting gardens the other day she said that her dad had planted a whole packet of zucchini seeds when he was first gardening and of course had a blue million of 'em.  He took a bowl of 6 of them to work one day to share with his staff and patients, and by the end of the day there were 11 zucchini in the bowl!  See that?  They multiplied on their own without vines!  I tell Durwood that he can plant zucchini if he can figure out how to buy half a plant.

May 26--Carleton E. Watkins, View from the Sentinel Dome, Yosemite.  Gabe used the branches of pines and handfuls of brush to pull himself to the top of the ridge.  His heart fell as he saw what lay before him.  Mountains stretched as far as he could see.  Snow lay in the folds and creases of the slopes, and pines lined up like sentinels patrolling a border.  The wind cut through him here above the treeline.  As much as he liked the long view from this height he knew he'd be warmer down slope in the shelter of the trees.  His snowshoes were a big help now, they had saved him from falling many times on the climb up but they'd be a hindrance lower down the mountain, catching on brush and tripping him every few steps.

Are you grilling out today?  I think I will, we've got some pork chops thawing and I love pork on the grill, don't you?  I know it's not "traditional" Memorial Day fare but it's what was oldest in the freezer so it's the pork chops' turn to fry.  In between cookouts and concerts today, remember to thank a Vet for your freedom and stop a moment to say a prayer for those who never made it home.
--Barbara