I'd Rather Be in the Mountains

Wow, it's hot out here. We're hitting over 100 every day, and the forecast for the foreseeable future is all over 100. Even the mornings are hot. I walk about 6:00 most mornings, and it has been about 80 or so with more humidity than I would like. It's really oppressive.

My walks have been interesting, though. For the last few mornings, a group of 4 or 5 turkeys have been roosting on some power lines at the top of the hill. It's a bit dark for a picture with my phone, so I haven't even tried. One morning, I came across a dead skunk in the middle of one of our side streets. We've had quite a few of these little stinkers in the area lately. Perhaps the heat knocked him over. 

Dead skunk in the middle of Pinto Path

I've seen another skunk in the area with quite a bit more white. They are really pretty creatures, but they are notorious for carrying rabies.

On the home front, Donna murdered a tarantula the other day. I scolded her, for tarantulas are more or less harmless. But Donna and all creepy crawly things just don't get along.

Another victim of Donna's wrath. Guess I should be more careful about smarting off to her.

The deer have really been hard on some of our plants. We've given up on the peppers, and Donna may have also finally given up on her tomato plants. She did manage to harvest some green tomatoes, so I think we'll be enjoying some fried green tomatoes soon.

We've also harvested some oregano, rosemary, and basil from our herb beds. We dried the oregano and rosemary, and Donna put those in bottles to use in her cooking. The basil will make some excellent pesto. We've bought pesto in the grocery store before, but it does not compare to what Donna makes at home. We'll continue harvesting this plant the rest of the summer, and Donna will make pesto and freeze it so we can enjoy it on our pasta during the winter. It really is good!

A bottle of oregano on left, and two bottles of rosemary with red caps.

Green tomatoes on left are from our plants. Red tomatoes are from Schwartz Boys, farmers from nearby Wall that I mentioned in a recent post. Basil is from our plants.

We're hunkering down rather seriously now. We are using curbside service for groceries. Our Covid-19 numbers are very high, and there does not seem to be any relief. I hope folks have learned their lesson, but there is a group that will never learn. 

I hope all of you are safe and happy.