The weather has been a roller coaster for the past month. We get a few days of sauna-like temperatures and humidity then plummeting to chilled air that I prefer, but then again, I really like the 70’s. We don’t get to choose our weather, we just have to roll with it. Right now, I am thinking about tomatoes because they are sitting on the deck all in a row. Some are nearly 3 feet tall. I decided to cut back significantly on the number of tomato plants given we are still using up tomato sauce frozen from last year’s crop. I made shrimp simmered in sauce over creamy polenta. Gourmet level cooking if I say so myself. So, we will plant 12 tall tomato plants and 12 baby tomato plants.

Last night we made the trek to Northwoods Apiary in Westfield Vermont to pick up two bee nucs. Craig discovered tons of honey melded into the combs in the hives. But the bees were gone. Dead or flew away? We have to buy another piece of equipment to separate the honey from the beeswax. Something much like a salad spinner. Of course we got a little lost on the trip because Garmin likes to mess with us a bit. The apiary is located on Loop Road which caused Garmin confusion. On the way home, she directed us to take a dead end dirt road called Under the Hill. It was sketchy and right out of central casting for a C level horror movie. I really hate Garmin.

Craig is picking up 100 trout today. It’s summer. We have bees, trout, tomatoes and ticks. The ticks are the worse they have ever been. One of my co-workers said that she was grateful her kids are young adults and they didn’t grow up during the pandemic. I am grateful to have raised kids before ticks infested our land.

Speaking of raising kids, we are making headway with Toby. He lets us know when he has to do his business outdoors. This morning I woke up to his adorable face looking at me. Paws on the side of the bed. It was 5am but we have to reinforce the good behavior. He sits, stays and comes when directed. I am working on jumping and nipping at my heels. I discovered that shaking the bottle of Melatonin jelly beans startles him and he backs off. He also calms down if you play fetch with a ball about twenty times. The Fed Ex driver came to the house yesterday which resulted in 10 minutes of frantic barking.

This morning at 6:30am it’s 39 degrees.