Jam Sessions ("A Little Nina Simone Would Do You Good" And My Summer Drought Harvest)

When I heard the temps would be in the "dangerous/triple digits" range for an undetermined period of time, I made a mad dash to the store for provisions: canning jars, Bing cherries, Rainier cherries, plums, blueberries (two pounds each), sugar, lemons and chocolate. If things were going to get bad, really bad, I wanted: bread, homemade cherry plum jam, Pandora (my Nina Simone station!), chocolate and my favorite espresso--Lavazza. I pretty much lived off these things the past few weeks--give or take. 

The lack of rain, the intense heat, the cave dwelling, the near-dying-but-not-quite-ready-to-call-it-quit plants I am constantly worrying over--like a mother hen--is taking its toll. I am lucky I was able to get in one crazy five hour mega canning of the blueberry and cherry kind just before this ridiculous weather set in. I have been going through at least a jar of jam every other day. I don't know what it is, but the sound of the spoon hitting the side of the jar, the glob of luscious jam spilling out onto my rye bread toast first thing in the morning, sipping my espresso, sneaking in a brief moment of quiet time on the porch before the searing temps set in--bracing myself for the rest of the day--this little jar of jam makes me smile. 

By mid-day, it's time for music. Nina Simone has been my go-to respite. There is only one other female jazz artist I think ranks with Ms. Simone--and that would be Shirley Horn (in my humble opinion). I require music to live. If you're unfamiliar, might I suggest Pandora for your listening pleasure. Seriously. Go there now and listen.

I've been making great strides with the guitar. By great strides, I mean, I have moved from playing first position to now playing (and memorizing the notes for!) second position--better known as D Major Scale. I didn't think I'd make it through these lessons. My instructor told me: If you get this--you'll be half past where most people give up. To my ears this was more of a challenge than a typical homework lesson. I was NOT going to be undone by a little shift of "guitar positions". And so we sat on the same page of the same song with the same notes for over three weeks before I felt we could "move on". Let's just say Dr.Thyme declared both Angels We Have Heard on High and Joy to the World--off limits this December. They're just referred to as "those songs" now. Um. Okay.

Weighing the plums--went into the jam with the cherries.

The ready-for-filling jars.

The jam cooling on the porch in the morning sun.

This morning--my tomato harvest. Un-believable. I couldn't get a red tomato off the vine last summer to save my you-know-what. 

Here we are in the WORST DROUGHT since the Dust Bowl (and here's a link to the Drought Monitor website--we are in the "severe" drought category in Missouri right now)--and the tomatoes seem to be doing better than last year.

 Just looking at the rest of the landscape around me is enough to make me cry. And I have cried. I try to limit my watering to the plants that I feel have a "chance" at making it--even though several plants/trees and bushes have begun to die--or are leaf dropping. They are stressed, they've got to call it a year and resort to their "winter" selves. This is a devastating thing to witness. I've not got the words to tell you how much angst this whole thing has caused me. I have no idea whether or not they'll make it through the winter. The time and energy I have put into my garden. . . well, it just is too much to think about right now. It's the optimist in me that thinks they'll all "return" next spring. There's no way of telling. If the rains came now, we'd maybe be spared. But it needs to rain for a week. I am just crushed.   

Meantime, I have some of the best looking tomatoes I've ever grown. Go figure. There will be some canning soon. Or not. Maybe just really awesome pasta with the day's garden grub.

Apple Cucumbers. Never heard of them before. Found some seeds this spring at a local nursery. Liked the picture on the seed packet, planted them and look at these things--they LOVE it! I have to come up with a plan because I am going to be apple-cucumber-crazy here soon. 

Apple cucumber vines.

My zinnia seeds are finally flowering. (A rabbit or two has been making their home in the garden--seemed to love my zinnias.) I knew it'd be a matter of time before said "bunnies" were part of another food chain and that seems to be where we're at right now as evidenced by the flowers making it to maturity. Sorry bunnies.