June 11 ~

How I looked forward to June!!! I am never one to rush the seasons and am pretty patient with our very long winters and then the dangerous fluctuation between warmth and frosts...But here I sit-- INDOORS again. More rain...a LOT more rain. It rained most of last week too, when I was trying to get the gardens looking nice for my students. It was not up to my standards, but it was good enough. The day after was pretty nice and then...back to RAIN.

During class, I told my new batch of herb enthusiasts that I had a class plan, but that due to the weather, we would have to be flexible. Usually, a first class entails an extensive plant walk--including the vegetable garden. We popped out .........

 June 1 ~

What is normally a typical, yearly task has seemed Herculean this Spring. Family obligations, extreme weather and many other things proved unusually disruptive to an already stressful period.......  my annual May panic  X 10!!!

But today, after 2 days of working non-stop (except for the needed re-hydration breaks), the veggie garden is done. We can sit back (perhaps with a basil/ginger/fruit cocktail) and look at it with pride and great relief and pleasure for a week or so...before the weeds take over and demand more intense attention. The heat and humidity have been unbearable to us--especiall since we left the DC area years ago to escape humidity---which had been a success until 5 years ago. I do.........