And more with the summer...

I think we are getting toward the end of the summer heat. Not that we had much of it this year, but in the same way that having a long vacation doesn't actually make you want to go back to work, having a cool summer doesn't make you glad to see the heat. In reality, I could deal with the heat if it weren't for the voracious mosquitoes that stalk me now day and night. I have to slather myself with stinky bug spray before even attempting the simplest of garden tasks. There is so much to do out side and it is brutal. Last night the bugs were biting me through my pants. Pretty underhanded. Oh, and we have yet to turn on the AC this year. Not that I mind really. I just feel kinda butch.

Things have gotten frisky in the duck pen. There is a great deal of cavorting and flirting and ... well, I am sure you can imagine the results. Two boys, nine girls all reaching sexual maturity in the summer around a pool. It is no less dramatic than you might - who is flirting with whom, who has his/her advances accepted or rejected, etc etc. The boys aren't actively fighting though, which is good. Sampson chases Cyrus, who seems happy to run rather than confront him. He is a lover (every chance he gets) not a fighter. Duck eggs in about 3 weeks I think.

I have been making tomatillo sauce. We have lots of peppers and tomatillos. I planted sugar snaps yesterday. Still waiting on other things to come up, though the mustard and kale are going great guns, as is the rutabaga. A few other less identifiable things as well.

Tomorrow, I think, must be a day to visit the bees. They have been sorely neglected and I have to see if 1) there is any honey and 2) if I need to do anything to get them ready for winter. Wish me luck, I am a little out of practice.

The SB and I spent about a week digging and moving 4 ENORMOUS boxwoods from a yard a mile or so away. THAT will set you back on the housework.

I have been making watermelon agua fresca lately. Fill the blender container with watermelon chunks, the juice of a lime, about 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Blend until smooth, run through a strainer, add more water or seltzer and some more lime juice and/or mint. Mmmm. I'll even give you some if you come mow the lawn.