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| "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.
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| "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.
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| "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.
the first flower shot shows a delicious colour...seeing the light through the petals
ReplyDeleteLucky you - 19C sounds heavenly right now! I'm fine with summer sun and warmth, but once it gets past 30C and especially when it does not cool off over night, I reach my personal limit and feel half brain-damaged most of the time.
ReplyDeleteWe're expecting the drop from 37C today to 27C tomorrow, and the thought of that has kept me going for the past three days :-)
Yes, killing is unavoidable in the circle of life and to keep ecological systems going. Animals do it, plants do it (in their own way). But it doesn't mean we like it, or have to do it deliberately.
The lily beetle is so striking, staying one's hand over killing it's larvae is compassion, even though you did stamp on them in the end. It is cool now, and it seems next week it will rain a lot of the time in Tod.
ReplyDeleteIt was still 28 most of yesterday here, so still no gardening, and no rain, everywhere is parched again, I do water pots and edibles.
ReplyDeleteI applaud your use of the term "brambly" to describe your bramble patch. And food in freezers? It could stay there for years. There's always the obstacle of defrosting as well as the "out of sight out of mind" phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you've already read Winton's book Cloudstreet. I read another of his books but I can't remember which one. After finding myself suddenly being Household Management a couple of years ago, I now have to work out the food in the fridge. I've had to learn to ask to be shown what is leftovers and available for me to eat.
ReplyDeleteOoh, 66 sounds like heaven. We’re heading for over 100 again today and tomorrow and... You have such a way with words. Imagine. Brambly brambles! It’s poetic. The flower photos are wonderful. Apologies to the larvae, but not sorry! (Sorry.)
ReplyDeletehello there. You have a distinctive weather. well, Indonesia has a tropical climate with two seasons
ReplyDeleteFYI,Indonesia uses the Celsius (°C) temperature scale because it follows the International System of Units (SI), the global standard used by most countries. Fahrenheit (°F) is used mainly in the United States and a few other places, so Indonesia has no practical reason to adopt it..
We're about to embark on a heatwave next week so I'm walking now, to enjoy while I can. Since I joined the xerces society I'm much more tolerant of insects of all kinds. Even if they're biting holes in my flowers.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you don't want to eat down the fridge and you just have to. Use it or lose it and it's too expensive to lose. Cooking up the chicken seems smart -- at least you can have cool chicken meals during this heatwave!
ReplyDeleteDave and I have the same problem when it comes to the freezer. Once I put it in there, it gets buried and I forget about it! Glad you have cooler weather again.
ReplyDeleteOur heatwave is this week but we have AC as do nearly all businesses so ... in the words of Gloria Gaynor ... we will survive.
ReplyDeleteWe are smashing spotted lantern flies as fast as we can, an aggressive invasive species with few natural predators to keep it balance.
ReplyDeleteWe are counting down the hours to the promised break in the heat - for now.
ReplyDeleteYou've got another retirement job now it seems. Keeping a tab on food stocks.
I onced stayed at a Buddhist retreat in France where the shower room was inundated by ants and we tried multiple ways to reroute them to avoid hurting them until a smiling Buddhist nun walked in, put on the hot shower and washed the bodies down the drain.
Glad to hear you are getting a break from the heat. We don't throw food away either. If there's not enough for leftovers it goes in a container in the freezer for soup. I will trap bees and wasps and beetles that make it into the house and release them outside but ants and mosquitos and flys are not so lucky. They need to stay outside where they belong.
ReplyDeleteThere are some bugs that one has to kill.
ReplyDeleteI like those bright flowers - thanks for sharing!
Good to hear the heat has let up. Lots of pretty blooms!
ReplyDeleteSo glad London is finally cooling off a bit. Blessed relief.
ReplyDeleteAn FYI on having a stocked freezer given you are soon going away, you might try a trick I have used to ensure frozen things stay(ed) frozen as I have needed it since our area is prone to losing power. If you aren't aware of a prolonged power loss things can thaw and refreeze without your knowledge (and lead to food poisoning). To avoid this situation I keep a mug with water in the freezer. Once it is solid ice, I place a coin on top of the ice. If, when I return, the coin has sunk to the bottom of the mug, I know I have to throw away the contents of the freezer (as I have had to do more than once). You might not have to deal with frequent power losses in London--though another heat wave might easily zap the grid--but this is a simple way to make sure your frozen food stayed frozen while you were away.
Have a great time on your cruise.
Lily beetles are such attractive beings, but so destructive. I used to put them in the pond for the fish. I don't know whether the fish appreciated them.
ReplyDeleteThe newly arrived cool weather is such a great relief for all.
ReplyDeleteMy freezer is full too. Everything will be used in good time. Like you, my policy is no waste and if we do not eat everything, the wildlife will get a treat.
French restaurants can be disappointing. I often feel the food is too rich.
Nothing feels quite as good as cleaning out the refrigerator. And freezer! I just finished up some soup and sorry, but I'm about to compost some salad I made last week. I ate it about four times and that was ENOUGH! It's not Glen's type of salad.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things about chickens is that they happily ate up almost any scraps you threw their way. It made getting rid of things so much easier and more guilt free.
So glad your heat broke. I imagine ours will too, probably in October.