Everybody Talks About It

But no one ever does anything about it. That'll be the weather. This year the weather is driving us nuts. Not because it's been bad or violent or anything like that. It's just been weird.

The grass and wildflowers are thriving in a nearby meadow.

We hardly had a winter, and then April was like June should be. May turned cold and soggy. And now that it's June, well, I don't know what to make of it. It's the most humid weather I think we've had in the four years we've lived here. Warm humid, then cool humid, then rain, then thunderstorms.

The grass it growing, but cutting it is a challenge. I have to check the day's weather forecast several times to see if it's a good cut day. The grass has to dry out first, of course. That means a few days of dry weather in a row. The longer the grass gets, the longer it takes to dry out. And it takes a about an hour and a half to do the whole thing.

The ends of rows of vines out in the vineyard behind the house. They're spraying a lot out there - either it's because it's very buggy or the rain washes off the insecticide as soon as they put it on.

Walking the dog is also a challenge. When it's not raining, it has rained, and there's mud everywhere. Not that the dog minds - she loves it. But then we have to go through the whole ritual of drying off with a towel before she can come back into the house which turns into a big game of tug-o-war and keep-away. I fear for the towel...

The garden got in late because May was soggy. Most of my pumpkin seeds didn't sprout (I don't know why) so I've re-planted and will be lucky to have pumpkins by Christmas, let alone the fall season. Today t-storms are predicted. Do I water the garden ? Do I wait ? Arrrgh !

More wildflowers.

And the bugs. Don't get me started on the bugs. There are many more bugs this year due to the lack of freezing weather last winter. At least that's what the old wives say around here. And they bite. The bugs, not the old wives. Our arms and legs are covered with bites and I'm constantly pulling ticks off the dog (before they attach).

I'm not really complaining. I've seen on the news the awful weather they've had (violent wind, floods) in other parts of the country, not to mention tornadoes in the US and severe drought in Africa, and we're not (thankfully) having do contend with anything close to those conditions.

And on the up side, the cherry trees are amazing this year. All the free cherries we can pick and then some. I've made pies, clafoutis, and today Ken is making duck in a cherry sauce for our lunch.

Callie loves the tall grass. So do the ticks.

It's not even summer yet. But it will be soon. As Nat King Cole once sang, roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer ; those days of soda and pretzels and beer... I'm ready for 'em.