Post-vacation De-brief

So, I had a short post ready on my phone to upload - and that's when I became pretty sure that there was no signal (bandwidth) available on the island. I'm glad for the local residents up there: the sheer volume of visitors was unusual - it had been quiet the past 10 - 15 years I'd been up to the island - so this was, in a sense, "back to normal" and businesses were doing well, from what I could see. That also meant, however, that my normal ability to get a line out on my cel phone and check email, etc., was... yeah. no bandwidth available! or, if you're old enough to remember, "All circuits are busy right now, please hang up and try your call again later."

So here we are at "later" and I'm back in the office, and still haven't downloaded my photos from my camera.

I'll get to that soon enough, and I'll post a proper update then - because saying "wow, there were such a variety of cool-looking mushrooms all around our campsite" just isn't the same as being able to show you.

Also, I bought a few books from a bookstore that I found on the drive south and home; including a book with gorgeous photos and clear directions on how to preserve various fruit & vegetable jellies, chutnies, pickles, etc. You can see where this is heading, can't you?

I'll get back to you on this when I've got photos to document the various adventures, misadventures, and mistakes.
Until then, ...

Tomatoes!

So, after all the threats of heavy rain this week, instead we have powdery earth. I dropped by yesterday (in the company of dad, who nicely grabbed a pair of snippers and got after some of those pesky invasives while I watered, harvested veggies, and yanked weeds. Yay! I have a few veggies and I'm really pleased. Now I was able to share with dad, gave a few to friends Susan& Bob, and still have plenty for bringing up to Maine while I camp for the week.



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Also, the mystery bulbs my neighbor kindly gifted me have started to bloom and they have a faint, but lovely scent.




I'll try to post a few photos fromour planned visit to local farmers markets up north, but it's an island, so coverage may be spotty. Who knows!
Posted from my iPhone..

Rain, oh when will it rain?

Don't get me wrong. I'm a New England native, so I know just how strange and contrary and unpredictable the weather in these parts can be. It's just that I keep getting fooled by the little gadget that claims to predict the weather on the interwebs. See, for the past 10 days, each day when I look to see what the next couple of days are allegedly going to provide (considering that most days are always going to be "partly sunny" or "parly cloudy") - I'm looking for a basic "is the sun going to shine and I should water extra," or an "is it going to rain, so I don't need to worry about the soil." And each day for the past 10 to 14 days, my little program has been telling me that the next few days will have [cue dramatic music] THUNDERSTORMS and heavy rain! [cue sound of thunder and lightning flashes] and each day passes with a few clouds after a hot, often sunny day, and we get at best, a few drops of rain - a scattered hint of a shower. rain? not so much. Thunderstorms? definitely not. I don't mind - my plants need more sun, and I can water. It's just this whole will-it-or-won't-it thing that's slightly annoying me.

Plus, tantalizingly enough, I'm reading that other folks to the west in the northern central states are getting crrrrazy T-storms, lightning and funnel clouds and microbursts. I could do without that particular drama, I confess. Still. I wonder. Where's the rain?

Purple beans!

Yum, beans, tomatoes and peas, oh my!



- Posted from my iPhone...