“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
~ William Shakespeare
I spent a little bit of time in the garden yesterday morning–just long enough to harvest kale, Swiss chard, a couple of cucumbers, a few sunburst squash, and do some watering. I felt slightly nauseous afterward as a result of the smoke blanketing our city from the forest fires burning in our province.
This morning it still looks like a winter fog has rolled in but it’s smoke, not fog. The the air quality rating is currently 7 but is predicted to rise to 10 again today indicating high risk. Last I heard, 34,000 people have been evacuated from various communities. It’s terrible.
The weather forecast is stellar–except if it’s a bad fire season. The longterm forecast shows nothing but sunny and hot days continuing. We aren’t seeing much of that sun as a result of the smoke though, and we need rain so much.
Yesterday, I froze kale and Swiss chard. The freezer is filling nicely with strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, pesto, peas, asparagus, spinach, Swiss chard and kale; green beans are right around the corner. I’m looking forward to tucking away a boatload of salmon and halibut after Gerry’s annual fishing trip next month too, assuming the fire situation doesn’t prevent it from happening. (As of now, he would be unable to reach his fishing destination due to road closures from the fires.)
Today, again, more indoors than out. We will spend much of the day traveling back and forth from a nearby city, and visiting with Gerry’s mom. Maya the Wonder Dog will accompany us and, I hope, will bring a smile to her face.
Summer 2017. And so it goes.
Your harvest sounds so delicious. Our state has had a number of fires, too, although we haven’t been nearly as affected by the smoke from them as you have. Nature continues to humble me.
It is starting to sound a little like last year in northern Alberta around Fort McMurray last year! Sure hope this does not become an annual thing….