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The Summer Garden

When the warmth of Spring begins, I long for time in the garden.  I plot and plan. I scour the seed catalogs that have filled my mailbox for weeks.  I dream of what I will can and dehydrate as my lush Summer Garden provides all of the food we will need for the winter.  And then, it RAINS.

When I say rain, I don't mean a nice spring shower.  No, I mean it rains 3 inches and just about the time I think it's safe to walk outside without boots, it rains another 3 inches.  It teases me like this for weeks. Finally, I come to the conclusion that it's never going to dry out.  The sun will never shine long enough to put a garden in.  I guess we will have to rely on store-bought food. :(

Just as all hope seems to be gone....the sun shines! And the days heat up! Before I know it, the plants are in the ground and I'm fighting 100 degree temps with 110 heat indexes!  What happened to SPRING??  I'm even wishing for a little rain to give my sprinkler system a break.

The lush garden from my dreams looks like a dry, parched wasteland.  The tomato plants droop and the squash bugs are feasting on the squash buffet I have provided them.  The only thing that seems to thrive are the weeds.

I managed to collect enough green beans for a meal or two.  There will be no beautiful quart jars full of green beans awaiting us this winter.  The zucchini that I stole from the squash bugs was rationed between the four of us.

The tomatoes? Oh, the tomatoes.  I had a lovely tomato sandwich courtesy of my husband's co-worker.  Maybe the most delicious I have ever eaten.  You are wondering about my tomatoes?  Well, so am I. There were a few that survived the desert conditions but not many.  There will be no fresh-tasting salsa, no tomato soup.  There will be no pasta sauce (although my basil THRIVED!)  and no canned tomatoes.

Today, I have tilled under the last of my summer disappointment and I begin dreaming once again.  This time, dreaming of greens and broccoli, spinach and kale. I pray the heat weakens and winter takes it's time arriving.  There is still hope......in the Fall Garden.