Friday, August 19, 2016

Mid-Summer

 There is something nostalgic and a little sad about particularly cool August mornings. For a moment it feels like it's suddenly September or October and luckily gives one a moment before it warms up to reflect on what needs to be done before the season's over and the days run short.
   I haven't canned enough. An early morning car retrival sent me into a brief panic over the blackberries drying on the cane. So far I've only made 2/3rds of a jar of fridge jam and its half gone already; and while blackberries are a summer treat, there's little nicer than a thick goop of spiced goodness on a piece of fresh toast on a rainy winter day.
     Green bricks of zuchini and green beans sit in my fridge. I've promised I'd freeze than (Edit: green beans have been frozen!) or remember to buy chocolate chips at the store for zucchini bread but I've been to busy and tired to follow through. I've pinky sworn to take care of them all this weekend. For one person and everyone I can pawn them off on, two zucchini plants are too many.
 While visiting a friend I've realized I don't even know where my swim suit is. It was packed up after a dreamy summer in the Sierra foothills with evening and weekends spent in the bubbling, crystal clear waters of the American River. And now, almost a year later still sit there, tucked away and never unpacked. Luckily the azure waters of Lake Crescent are about at the warmest so there is time yet for to soak for a time yet.
  Despite all that I'm lagging behind in (why did I think I could have an online shop opened by now?), and working 60-70 hours a week I have managed to snag some summer days and go out adventuring. Proud and still sore I hiked almost 10 miles round trip this past weekend to Tull Canyon- up, up, up past Tubal Cain Trail, the mine and past the hollowed and scavenged remains of a B-17 from the last century into hillsides of wild flowers, scree and stunted trees standing proud under a cloudless sky. There was a bear sighting on Hurricane Ridge while my parents visited after a rainy night camped out on Second beach. There have been day trips to Seattle and Port Townsend and in a few short weeks I'll be spending the weekend in San Francisco/ Meadow Vista for some much needed R&R.
 





     Summer has gone by fast and I"ve struggled to keep up with my plants-- there's been no lettuce at the farmers market for me the last two weeks, and won't be for another few weeks. Lesson learned. Next year I will certainly be laying down drip irrigation- I can't afford to have a whole succession bolt on me because I missed a watering. But the winter crops have been seeded and planted-- a mixed succession of gold and red beets as well as cold hardy radicchio who I have been spoiling with water every day. I've saved seeds from calendula, tulsi and moldavian balm and have plans for next year for better yields. The tulsi and balm were both amazingly tasty, but didn't produce quite enough for me to share. 
      Last week I bottled two new oils-- St. John's Wort (who will be featured in a future post- it is one of my favorites) and the second a blend of SJW, yarrow, sagewort, calendula, lavender, mint, comfrey and more for general pains, sprains, bumps and bruises. It's been helping my neck tension a lot and I'm glad to finally have it at market.
      I'll be at the Bainbridge Island Farmers Market tomorrow, with salves, lip balms, and oils. Fingers crossed for lettuce in the next couple of weeks, and a restocking of mint salves and new calendula-clover oil. Later I'll be vending at the Friends of the Friends Harvest Fair, with even more new goodies and possibly a small farm poetry zine.


   
 
Marsh mallow
Evening primrose
Midnight whispers and
Will o’ the whisp murmers.
Ankle deep in chilled grey waters
Meandering the sodden cattails
And iris stems.
2014

  
    
  
     

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