Saturday's sunrise

This is July? This morning we have 11ºC (about 50ºF) outside. Inside, we're one degree (celsius) from the central heating coming on. I'm wearing two shirts and long sleeves. And I keep hearing about 100ºF-plus temperatures in the US. I certainly would not like that kind of heat here (been there, done that). But, wtf? This is nuts.

Looking toward the northeast on a (chilly) summer morning.

The good news, at least according to one of the weather sites I look at daily, is that this coming week should see some more summer-like weather. Let's hope so.

Ouch!

These are some of the thorny blackberry brambles, commonly called ronces in French, that grow in our hedges. This year they've been most aggressive, taking advantage of a very wet spring to advance into new territory. Each spring, Ken goes out with gloves and pruning shears and tries to cut the worst of them back. I don't know of any way to actually eliminate them short of burning down the hedge. Even then, I'd bet that the brambles would survive.

Cut ronces on the ground. You can see some more growing out of the hedge in the top left and right of the photo.

If they're not cut back, they will reach out into the yard looking for new places to spread. They're a danger to anyone who gets close, which I often do while mowing. Their thorns are strong and sharp and they can pierce clothing and still draw blood. They're a scourge! And their fruit isn't even good to eat.

The bee's knees

I believe you can actually see them in this shot of a bee visiting one of our artichoke flowers.

A lucky shot! Even without a macro lens.

We had rain and drizzle on and off most of the day on Thursday. I got no outdoor work done. As compensation, Ken made a delicious fried rice dish for lunch. Maybe we'll be able to do a couple of things outside today. Meanwhile, mole hills continue to appear in the north forty. Ugh.

A choke of a different color

The volunteer artichoke out in the vegetable garden plot is blooming. Instead of the deep blue/purple flowers I'm used to, its flowers are very nearly white.

Just a hint of blue.

Yesterday, I spent a good hour hacking at the big forsythia, something I do every few years. It gets too big and unruly and it's impossible to mow around. There's a little more to do, but it's minor. The cut branches are now piled in the vegetable garden plot for the summer. The leaves will dry and drop and I'll dispose of the branches themselves in the fall.

This morning the weather is lousy. We have 15ºC (about 60ºF) and drizzle. On the bright side, it's preferable to a hurricane.

Fallow year

It's official. No vegetable garden for us this year. We never heard back from the landscape guy about tilling up our plot (we can't do it ourselves any more). Now it's too late to plant; the seedlings have died. So, the garden plot will lie fallow this year, sort of. I'm still mowing it.

I left the volunteer artichoke alone. The oregano patch (right) is starting to bloom.

We're thinking now about how we can change our approach to the garden. Maybe by relocating it. Definitely by downsizing it (we've already started that). And likely by finding another gardener who'd be more reliable and responsive.* I'd hate to give up on backyard tomatoes and squash.

*He's always been reliable about the hedge trimming and taking down trees. Big jobs are more attractive than small jobs I guess. But he's the one who offered to till for us. He did it last year. I could understand if he's swamped (as it were) because of all the wet weather we've had this spring. Maybe he's lost employees. Maybe he's gone out of business. We haven't heard anything.

Holy moley

The moles are back. Not in great numbers, but there are two areas where fresh hills are appearing. This one is in the north forty, the other is in the west. They're not a big problem, but the hills are unsightly.

They kind of look like cow patties. They're just dirt.

Yesterday I did some trimming, cutting off most of the low-hanging branches on the apple trees. They tend to slap me in the face when I run under them with the mower. And the apples are getting big enough to hurt when they bump my head. So, off they went!

Armagnac

I treated myself to a shot of armagnac on Saturday after lunch. Armagnac is a brandy made by distilling white wine and aging the result in oak barrels, much like its cousin, cognac. Often, brandies are served in a bowl-like glass called a snifter. I guess that helps to develop and capture the brandy's aroma, particularly the smokiness of the oak. I served this one in a shot glass. But don't gulp it down in one go. Brandy is meant to be sipped and savored slowly, and especially after a meal. Brandies are often referred to as digestifs. That is, they are believed to help with digestion. Works for me!

A nice shot of armagnac on the deck after lunch.