Summer Came

So I went outside this morning and did summer things.

I watered my patio garden.  All of the tomato plants got turned 180 degrees so they don't lean and I picked off all the "suckers" which are those little branches that sprout between the main stalk and the branches.  My Grandma Angermeier said that suckers spend energy making leaves that the plant can put to better use making tomatoes.  I believe her and try to keep on top of them.  We want tomatoes, not leaves.  This is pineapple sage which is growing like crazy between the two flat-leaf parsley plants that were bedraggled and are working hard to catch up.





Then I harvested a whole lot of rhubarb, washed it, chopped it, made some of it into rhubarb bread (oh, man, does the house smell great right now), and put the rest on a big cookie sheet to freeze.  I'll bag it later so we can make rhubarb things in the winter. Mmm.  I also watered the blueberries and chopped off all of the chives because the stalks of the chive flowers are woody and a pain to cut out individually so I just lop them all off and let the chives grow back which they do in a jiffy.






The poppies are done blooming, except for one lonely one hiding in back, but I like the way the seed pods look.  I remember being little and Grandma A cutting me a dried one to shake the seeds out of for next year's planting.  These flowers look like Queen Anne's Lace to me but I don't think that's what it is.  Probably it's a weed that I should root out of the planting bed.











As for yesterday's knitting, in the evening with my feet up and an ice pack on my ankle, I worked on Sudoku Strip #3 (there's about 5" to go) and added a couple more stripes to June Preemie Hat #3.  These tiny, sport weight yarn hats make the ones I usually make look like they'd fit a Wookie but I figure each of them will fit someone so I keep making them.  I'm careful to make them in acrylic yarn so that they're wash and dryable and they could even be sterilized if need be.  Wool I save for grownups who have the time and energy to worry about washing a hat like lingerie, parents of newborns, especially preemie newborns don't have that kind of time or room in their brains.






June 20--Karl Weatherly, Bike Race Start.  The starter's pistol shot echoed from the buildings on both sides of the street.  Drew was in the middle of the riders hoping he kept his balance.  If he fell he'd be run over a hundred times and would probably start a domino effect of falling cyclists.  He tucked his head down and focused on keeping his front wheel between the rear wheels of the two bikes in front of him.  He was glad he had wormed his way this close to the start because the elite riders moved away and rode faster so he had more room.  He kept his balance better the faster he went.  Didn't everybody?  Just as he started to breathe easier someone bumped his rear wheel and he began to wobble.

We're going to spend a Burger King coupon for lunch today.  (Oh, goodie, fast food.)  We usually go for the healthy stuff so fast food is a treat.  Durwood's got an appointment this afternoon so a quick burger helps us stay on track time-wise.  The bread's about done so I'm going to follow my nose into the kitchen.  I sure hope it tastes half as good as it smells.  The potato salad was good yesterday, not as good as Mom's German potato salad, but we needed no crunchy stuff because one of the diners had big-time dental surgery last week and is on a soft diet.  We'll enjoy the leftovers this week.
--Barbara