Havin' A Heatwave

It's hot as heck down at the cottage: 88 degrees in the shade when I crawled out of bed at 7:45. I was swimming before 9am... Okay, maybe it's not YOUR kind of swimming, but it's MY kind... in my 8' baby pool.

Next, on a mission of mercy, I schlepped to the steps to wet down the containers of annual flowers: marigolds, cosmos, salvia, begonias, geraniums, impatiens, vinca, amaranth, gazania, a couple of ponytail plants, and some mandaville (most of the crew was rescued from the clearance bin at Lowes, although I did start those marigolds, amaranth and cosmos from seed). Then I drenched and quenched the herbs and sundries on the deck: Out there I have dill, oregano, Thai/Sweet/Genovese basil, lemon & plain thyme, variegated and standard sage, chives (which need some serious pruning) cilantro, Italian parsley, creeping and standing rosemary, spearmint and peppermint, lavender and a whole gaggle of gladiolas.

Then I started on the veggies. I watered three canisters of cukes, the bed of beans, six tubs of tomatoes, a scuttle of squash, a bucket of banana peppers, and a bin of bunching onions... Everybody is thirsty. I have beakers and bowls, boxes and bags, cans and carafes, crates and crocks, hoppers, jugs, pails and vats. It's a total of 33 receptacles!

But they are mostly small, especially in comparison to their burgeoning occupants, looking like middle aged women spilling out of their pants.

To me it's the lower 40... making my cottage its own little Garden State... of mind.

But I'm hot as heck again and need to jump back in the pool! Who can write when the sweat on your forehead is dripping onto the keyboard?


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Early Summertime

The air is soggy... breezes thick with brine. The mourning doves are cooing in pleas, while moistly muffled tweets ring out from the nearby telephone wires. No matter how fogged, it is still wickedly bright, making sunglasses necessary, though they sit stickily on my face. If I could find the energy, I'd slip into the 85 degree pool water 20 feet away... but the air's sultry snuggling has robbed me of any stray motivations I might have had. The plants were lucky to get their breakfasts and the dog had to be carried outside to do what doggies do. Such is the tone here in Tuckerton... feeling more southern than NJ... perhaps more like Alabama, though I haven't been there, so I couldn't really know.



A small plane just flew over, loud and low enough to cause me to lift from my chair and glide to the deck for a look-see of what's going on. His engine is laboring under the weight of the air, and you can hear it in the chopping of his propeller, though he seems in no danger of dropping. Drooping perhaps, but not dropping.



I saw, though, while on the deck, that the visibility has improved. I can see more than the 200' I had only minutes before. Maybe that brilliant sun is close above this fog, melting away the moisture?



No sooner have I said this than I see hints of blue in the sky, and actual shadows are appearing beneath my outdoor furnishings. I breathe deep, and the air feels lighter in my lungs... Maybe a swim is in order after all? Iced coffee and a swim...

June 6 mini-installment

My pool is up to 85 degrees... perfect for me. I added baking soda last night and I am wondering if the water will feel different today. Not that it matters... as long as it is wet, I don't care. I did manage to get all my chemicals balanced... but again... who cares! LOL I still have to cut-to-fit my new solar cover. Imagine how soupy the water will get with THAT on! Yippeee!

Missy G is not loving the heat... goes around with her little tongue hanging out. Yesterday for the first time in her life she actually licked ice cubes in her bowl. But when I added water to the bowl and she started drinking that, I SWEAR she looked at me with an "Oh my God, I've got brain-freeze" look. I hate that, when I get it, so I felt really bad for her. Down here I've been continuing to allow her to sleep on the bed (a vestige of the cold nights in early spring when she needed the heat of my electric blanket to get through the cold nights). Last night she plopped down at the end of the bed, facing the fan that was blowing her little ears back. Very cute. Then this morning I woke up as she walked up my body, stopping on my chest to stare at me. I could feel her waiting and I kept my eyes shut... til that little whine started... "Pleeeeeese mommy" "Pleeeeese wake up and start petting me?" How can I NOT laugh? LOL


I cleaned and vinegared the two coffee makers. The new one I got is faster at making 12 cups than my old one is at making 4. Interesting.

Anyway.... plants to water and chores to ignore... gotta go. Although... maybe it's time to jump in the pool?

~ ~ SPLASH ~ ~

Ahhh... that's much better!