Here comes summer!

I suppose I should be grateful that "spring" lasted as long as it has. But it's over, and not just because it's Memorial Day weekend - the unofficial start of summer. No, we hit 90 degrees this week, and in just three mornings of teaching class outside I officially have the traditional farmer's tan. Unfortunately I have also realized that my work shirts have longer sleeves than my "casual tops" in the closet, and scrub tops are not appropriate apparel for the conference I have next week.

It's also the time of year when the garden is in transition. The local big box store was having a sale on plants this week so I went ahead and bought my tomatoes even though I've been saying all along I won't add any more plants until I get back from this next business trip. So between the tomatoes, the garden, and the front lawn there will be a lot of watering expected of those left at the house.

Oh, yeah, the front lawn. Normally I am against watering lawns - bigger water bills, more work mowing - but in this case it's necessary. In my first year of gardening out here I thought I had the perfect spot in the front yard for a small garden. And then the pecan trees leafed in. Last year when I pulled up the last of the beans and gave up on the watermelon I let the area go and started mowing it with the surrounding lawn. Unfortunately weeds have since become the predominant plant form out there, not grass, and to compound the problem there still were a few lumps and ridges from the rows of veggies. Every time I went across the front yard with the lawnmower I could feel my teeth rattling loose in my head. So I had the brilliant idea to take this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and rework the area to level the dirt and establish real grass.

Have I mentioned how hard it is to establish real grass in the spring in the south? But before you can establish real grass, you need to prepare the seedbed. Easier said than done. The plan was to kill the current greenery, work up the dirt, and drag it smooth. First, it took a minimum of two rounds of Round-Up to kill off the "prickly grass" as I like to call it - the burrs produced by this pestilence is the number two reason behind fire ants that you can't walk barefoot through the yard. Once I finally had more brown than green I dug out the rototiller to start working things up. I love this machine, but my particular model is older than me and about as motivated to start as I am to go for a swim. Once it finally did fire up, I had the pleasure of wrestling this monster as it attempted to drag me across the yard while the humidity helped trap the exhaust cloud in my face. The auto-soak option, heavy wash cycle, and two Tide Boosts have not been enough to get the smell out of my clothes.

Then the real fun began. I realized that hand raking roughly 1/3 of my front yard would not be an efficient use of my time. So I hooked up the pasture drag to the lawn mower and promptly got the old Snapper stuck in the soft dirt. After three more ill-fated attempts I did the next best thing and attached the drag to the hitch on my truck. I didn't get stuck, but the lack of agility in turning meant that I only got about half of the area dragged. I still ended up hand raking about half of the project area. Oh joy.

At least I was smart enough to borrow a hand-crank seeder from a friend. Another 10 minutes and the area was covered with a fine sprinkling of blue-tinged seed. I'm skeptical about how well this is going to work. The product label says it is impregnated with water-saving technology, but I know from work that establishing bermudagrass from seed is a real ____. Which is why I'm now watering my front lawn every day for who knows how long.

I don't want to see next month's water bill.

Springtime in the South

One benefit of moving down (over?) here is that I can get a good two months in both spring and fall without having to run the heat pump or air conditioner. I did keep the flannel sheets and extra blanket on the bed a little longer than usual this spring, and there were a couple nights within the last week where I wished they were still on the bed. On the other hand, I've had a couple of evenings recently where I did run the AC for an hour or so just to clear the air in the house.

And on the third hand, the Jekell-and-Hyde weather has also had a few benefits with the garden. Have I mentioned my broccoli bumper crop? Or the potato plants as big a shrubs? But the roller coaster of temperatures is about to take its toll. The radishes are threatening to bolt in more ways than one. The zucchini is no longer patiently waiting for the broccoli to leave so it can take over. And just when the peas are FINALLY starting to come in, they will probably be sunburned to a crisp within a week. Again, mixed blessings because I've been itching to get my tomatoes and peppers in the ground and they are supposed to go where the peas were supposed to come out several weeks ago.

*sigh*

At least it looks good. Now to go mow the lawn. Again.

Double, double, toil and trouble...

... fire burn and cauldron bubble.

I tried my hand at broccoli-cheese soup this weekend. The plan was to use up some of the bumper crop of broccoli from the garden in a manner that can be preserved in the freezer. It didn't go well. I misread the recipe, put in too much milk, my "four heads broccoli" was more like six by the time I cut it up and threw it in the pot. Then to try and even it out I added extra cheese. It's OK, but still needs more salt and pepper.

The worst though is that I once again managed to burn the roux on the bottom of the pot after adding the milk. Not just "little brown bits" but a layer of charred carbon on the surface of my stainless steel Cuisinart stock pot. I didn't realize it was burned until I was ten minutes into cooking the broccoli in the stock - I thought I stirred adequately as I added the liquid.

So, thanks to the wonder of Google, I have brought to a boil a stock pot full of water with 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid, simmered for 10 minutes, and am now letting it cool to room temperature. Not the most appealing of aromas to emanate from the kitchen in the last three days. Fingers crossed that it works.