Some Days Are Just About Perfect

Yesterday I made a real effort to get out of the house and into the garden before things began to heat up too much. I was rewarded with the sort of slanting morning light that makes everything look good -- the purple clematis, the blue door . . .

























. . . the first Japanese iris, just opening in the bed by the greenhouse . . .

. . . sun sifting through the leaves to dapple the path . . .
























. . . the first bloom on one of my three-for-ten dollars bargain roses -- and what a gaudy beauty!

But I had a date with the garden -- John had tilled the beds and I needed to get the squash and pumpkin seeds in.

There was one problem -- our wild turkeys have been using that fresh-tilled soil for dust baths -- so I got tobacco sticks from the barn and made little turkey deterring (I hope) tripods and planted the seeds under them.

I have great hopes that these heirloom pumpkins will prosper . . . and I also planted crookneck squash and zucchini . . . still have to find room for some hubbard and butternut squash . . . perhaps in with the corn . . .

The soil was dry as ash and as we ate lunch, we were thrilled to hear the sound of distant thunder.

And just then, there was a phone call. It was Carol -- Writers Porch Carol -- calling from Mississippi to say she'd sent me a package and had just gotten word that it had been left in the pig pen!

(This isn't as weird as it sounds. It's our neighbor's pigpen, near our mailbox and pigless for many a year. It's where the mail carrier as well as the UPS driver generally leave parcels that won't fit in the mailbox.)

Carol wouldn't tell me what she had sent -- just urged me to hurry down and get it.

So, like a child on Christmas morning, I hurried down. The mailbox is half a mile down the road and I took the jeep. Marigold watched me go by, wondering why I hadn't brought her a treat.

It was beginning to splat big raindrops and I dodged through them to retrieve the package from the pigpen.

Halfway back up the road, the skies opened up in a veritable gully-washer -- including, briefly, marble-sized hail. I was pleased to see that all my plantings were receiving a good soaking. Virtue rewarded!

And when I got to the house and opened the package! Oh rapture! Oh bounty! Oh Carol!

Vegetables from Carol's garden -- kept in perfect condition by all the little freezie things she had packed them with. Green tomatoes, yellow squash, green peppers, banana peppers, hot, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers -- the sweetest cucumbers ever. We had them last night, sliced with green onions, fresh dill, and a light vinaigrette.

I'm planning a feast with the rest -- fried green tomatoes, grilled squash and peppers -- I'll throw some of our asparagus on the grill too and I'll make shrimp and grits -- maybe a little andouille sausage too. The rock guys are planning to finish up the path on Friday and this ought to be just right.

And to cap off a perfect day, it rained again after dark -- over two inches!

Just look at those gorgeous vegetables! Thank you, Carol!!!