Monday, August 20, 2007

Rainy days

Saturday was beautiful and cool, but since Sunday we've gotten nearly 3 inches of rain! The lawn is unusually green for August; there's no need for irrigation in the fields either. Even though the sun hasn't been shining recently, our late-planted sunflowers have started to bloom.
Other crops are continuing to produce well. Mom has also started to pick tomatillos, or husk tomatoes, which are used in salsa. The summer cabbage is nice and big; some of them are ten pounds or more. There are tons of tomatoes; Aunt Laurie is sorting out the ripest for canning bushels. We don't have time to can much ourselves, but sometimes have time to freeze things or get extras from what Aunt Christie puts up.
Usually by this time of year, all the plants are in the ground and all that's left is the harvest. This year, though, we have new lettuce plants just sprouting in the plug trays. They are under a piece of plastic to protect them from heavy rain and hot sun. There's more lettuce that is ready to be transplanted, and some that is big enough to put in the ground, and still more that is ready for harvest. It's the continuous crop!
Summer isn't winding down yet. Unfortunately, dad went back to work this week. Not to say that he hasn't been working all summer, but now that fall is just around the corner, it's time for him to go back to the job that really pays the bills--Penn State Beaver. Mom has been doing double-duty as township tax collector all along, but especially since August when the new bills went out. She says every year that we must plant less, but that never happens.