Well. Since August began we have received nearly 8 inches of rain here at The Havens. That followed a July where we got about an inch of rain every week. As a consequence, the grass around here looks like this:
Now, this may not seem very extraordinary, but generally speaking the “lawn” you are looking at in the picture above looks just like the grass around the vineyard does in the following picture.
Don’t get me wrong. We are HAPPY to have rain in August. There are people in the area who wish we weren’t getting quite so much of it quite so fast, since they are experiencing flooding and there are lots of low water crossings that are closed right now, making it hard to get about the county.
The lushness is welcome. We haven’t had to water the gardens for several weeks, since Mother Nature has been taking care of that job for us. But usually about the middle of July we get a respite from the constant demands for mowing made byf the green areas here. Actually, we would be very happy to let it all grow, but Our Fair City has seen fit to pass an ordinance banning lawns taller than 12 inches.
So we were out on Sunday morning trying to finish mowing the acre of our property that contains the vineyard, the labyrinth and the savannah. Since it has been precipitating upon us on a very regular basis, we had not been able to get out there and the grass was very tall and thick. It was also still wet from the previous days rain, so it was necessary to stop about every 50 to 75 feet and clear the throw-out area of the mower so it would throw the grass. I did a whole lot of pulling on the rope to restart the mower, since there was no way I was going to reach in there to clear the area with it still running.
We persisted, however, even after the light rain started falling, and completed our task just as the day’s rain began in earnest. When I checked the rain gauge this morning we had received an inch and an eighth.
The vegetable garden is glorious.
We are getting at least two or three zucchini every day. I am in the process of pickling the third batch of gherkins. Right now we have stopped picking the tiny cucumbers for that, so in a couple of days we are going to be overwhelmed with large ones. The green beans are doing well. The asparagus has decided it can make new shoots, so I have been gleaning the patch for snacks while I work out there. The eggplants are pretty much finished. Tomatoes are coming on, yesterday we strained a bunch, made puree, and started condensing it. Today I canned that batch and there were 7 pints. A good start on the season.
Out at the pond, I have a large fishing spider hanging about. She posed for me last night. I love how you can see she is resting on the surface tension of the water.
Looks like it is going to rain some more. I think we are definitely experiencing one for the record books. I have to admit, it will make the job of the people looking after our place while we are gone on our cruise to Alaska a whole lot easier, and I’m glad for that!