Friday, August 16, 2013

I Love Summer (What the...??)

Well, let's not go too far with the summer love-fest.  I don't L.O.V.E summer.  I'm just enjoying this summer.  This right now summer.  These past couple weeks summer.  To be clear, summer is still my least favorite season.  It's not climbing the ranks . . . at all.

However, these past couple weeks the monsoons have hung around much longer.  We've had, dare I say, pleasant temperatures - like the 70's and 80's kind.  Like I needed a jacket in the evening and had to wear socks a few mornings.  We've had afternoon clouds.  Afternoon showers.  Small, cool breezes.  We haven't had the a/c on.  We haven't had the whole house fan on.  I can turn around and not be drenched in sweat by that small movement.  I can even turn on my oven and feel happy to be in the kitchen.

It's also making my new container garden happy-happy.  Which in turn makes me happy.  The strawberries, which were lacking in blooms are now crazy full of them.  Carrots will likely take until fall to come in, but no worries.  Cucumbers are overflowing their barrel and I'm gonna need to figure out what to do with them outside of throwing them in a salad.  Basil, Cilantro, Parsley are huge and used almost daily.  The blueberries and blackberries aren't old enough to produce a lot of fruit, so those are just getting picked and eaten, but next year we might have enough to throw on Sunday-morning pancakes.  There are a couple barrels that I have no clue what's in them (hubby and daughter did the planting) but lots of happy new greenery are sprouting in them.  I haven't check the tomatoes, but they're growing and I catch a glimpse of blooms every now and then.

 
All that upcoming freshness makes me wish I could harvest a few items for tonight's dinner, but will just have to wait until next year.  On the menu, Pioneer Woman's Gazpacho with Shrimp, unless I find a screamin' deal on crab (not likely here in no-ocean-in-sight Colorado) and a nice loaf of crusty bread, which I should probably get started.  Dessert hasn't been decided yet. . .maybe just a nice chocolate sheet cake.  Simple.  Good.  And something to celebrate the enjoyment of fresh summer produce.
 
 
Now what's not to like about that?

Happy Friday.

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