Released From the Oven

"Poodle Skirt" Dahlia

I'm sitting in our back garden as I write this, and it's a blissful 66º F (or 19º C)! The heat has broken, at least in our part of the world. As I understand it, it's still hanging over central Europe and creeping slowly eastward, but at least it's gone from here.

Yesterday was still pretty warm, 88º F at 3:30 p.m., but that's within the realm of reason and comfort. It is summer, after all. There will be warmth.

Dave made plans for dinner last night at a French place he'd read about on Instagram. (Dave is on Instagram? I had no idea.) Anyway, I reminded him that we had fish, pre-cooked vegetables and an entire chicken in the refrigerator, all of it set to expire within a day or two -- not to mention leftovers. So he cooked the chicken yesterday and we stuck it back in the fridge, and we'll be nibbling on that for the next week. The fish and veg will be tonight. We never throw away food, but sometimes getting everything eaten requires some logistical planning!

We also have a couple of entrees in the freezer from times Dave overbought groceries. I think we ought to focus on eating everything down over the next ten days or so before our trip. Once food is in the freezer Dave forgets about it entirely, so that will be my campaign -- to remind him.

"Gallery Valentin" Dahlia

Now that we've been released from the oven, I mowed the lawn yesterday afternoon and I have some trimming to do in the area of the blackberry patch. That part of the garden tends to get, well, brambly.

I also noticed several days ago that our yellow and Asiatic lilies were afflicted with scarlet lily beetle. Their larvae were all over the plants, rapidly devouring them. I dithered for a while on what to do, because you know I hate killing anything -- even garden pests. But yesterday I finally took the hose and washed off all the larvae in the middle of the lawn, where they will never be able to get back to the plants on the patio -- and I stepped on them for good measure. No more scarlet lily beetles, at least from that particular batch.

I once read about a Buddhist teacher who would say, every time he killed a mosquito or some other pesky insect that it was necessary to kill, "Better luck next time." Despite my Buddhist training I don't think there really is a next time -- I think these insects are living their one precious life. But as my Zen teacher taught me, killing is unavoidable. We kill every time we take a step. It's the way of the world. All we can do is minimize our harm.

"Bishop's Children" Dahlia

I started a book by Australian author Tim Winton called "Juice" that I picked up a couple of years ago at a bookstore. (Although I got my public library card this week, I'm still working on my own reading pile!) From what I can tell so far, it's a survival tale about life in a post-apocalyptic Australia -- kind of like "The Road" transplanted Down Under. I've liked Winton's other books and this one seems promising.

Oh, and we did go to Dave's French restaurant last night. We thought it was just OK.