Saturday, August 31, 2019

Where are you going.. summer?


 Last week after I came home from pride, I went out to check on my garden because I had been absent Saturday and Sunday. I saw something that hit me like a door in the face. The potato plants were lying down, some were turning brown and some yellow... noooo! You see for the non gardener, when the entire patch lays down like this and they are healthy, they are getting ready to go dormant. The plants die off and then you harvest the potatoes. The onions were doing the same and the tomatoes were dropping their leaves. 

 Summer is over. There was no mistaking the message, plants go by daylight hours, they don't care what the calendar or weather man says, they follow their own rhythm.
 No little onions.. get up! Get up! It's not time to sleep, please get up, hurry before winter hears about this, we don't want him coming!

 Noooo little potatoes, get up! Get up! Please do it for uncle Steve! Get up you little bastards or I'll poutine your dumb asses!

 No little tomatoes... nooo, stop dropping all your leaves, you still have time to grow! Now stop that baring your branches, shame on you, we can see your balls.. urr tomatoes. What are the neighbors going to think, filthy little plants, I'm never reading posts from Maddie's blog to you again!

 Gasp! Gassssssp! What? What has happened? Farewell rhubarb, you have earned your rest my old girl, you may sleep for you were the first to herald spring when I needed a sign of spring. You were the first real flavor after a winter of frozen or canned food, many plants have come and gone over the years but you have always been loyal to my family, good night, until we meet again some day.

 Hey at least the peppers are still doing kickass!

 I don't care what the calendar says, today is the last day of summer for me, tomorrow is the first day of fall. In this part of the world, the weather agrees with me. There is a chill in the air and this long weekend is always very different temperature wise from even last weekend. There is no more swimming in lakes and frost is a real constant danger now. Over all the summer of 2019 has been a pretty good summer, it started off cold but warmed up into a pleasant normal summer. Doesn't that sound weird to say or read, summer of 2019, really.. seriously it's been 19 years since the year 2000? When did that happen, imagine 2020, seems almost like the title of a science fiction novel or movie.. but I'm rambling.

 Even where the sun sets now is unbelievable in how far north the planet's tilt has progressed. My mom used to be saddened by the position of Sun, she passed that obsession on to me. You can see the sun setting on the left, on June 21 it sets on the right where you can see a tiny bump of a treetop. Hard to grasp in a photo but a huge distance in real life. You can see why things cool down, in another week or so, the sun will no longer shine on the north side of the buildings, or for that matter any hill, mountain or forest. The flowers on the north side of the house will stop blooming because of lack of light. The ground will begin to cool off as ever growing large sections won't see sunlight again until next spring.

 Tomorrow begins the decent into darkness, death and cold but as you see... I'm keeping a positive attitude towards it. :p

16 comments:

Old Lurker said...

Nooooo! Get up, little vegetables! I know cruel uncle Steven neglected you for two days, but there is still lots to live for! Don't give up yet!

This is all Debra's fault. She's the one who was welcoming autumn with open arms. Now the days are getting shorter, and WE ALL KNOW WHAT'S NEXT. Also Dr Spo was saying all kinds of awful things in Arizona, Even Bob -- sweet innocent Bob who wouldn't hurt a fly if it voted Democrat -- even Bob said he was "ready for a little Fall". We'll see just how little that is soon enough.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Lurker, I blame Debra too, she started this!!! Ugh.. the thought of an approaching winter feels daunting.
I was just thinking about you actually, I don't know if you read the last couple of posts on John Grey's blog but holy moly talk about "Attack of the Trolls" dum dum dummmmmm! I said to myself that I'm never going to be grumpy with my Lurky again! At least you're funny or clever when giving me a hard time!:D lol.

anne marie in philly said...

spouse's mater/cuke plants sense the change too. our days have been warm (upper 70s-low 80s), and our nights have been cool (low 60s). I've had the air conditioner off for a week now. and it's fucking DARK before 8p!

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Anne Marie, ya unfortunately the sun is setting after seven now. We had a light frost last night, temperature went close to 32 Fahrenheit or 0 Celsius, wasn't expecting that.

Deedles said...

Steven, Steven, Steven *sigh*. Stop and smell the onions, baby! Take each season as it comes and appreciate them fully. Don't think of winter when fall is just beginning. Enjoy the moments of autumn before it's gone. Kumbaya.
Now, anybody who grows rhubarb deserves everything he gets! Also, this is karma. There you were, having fun at "fruit" parades, while your veggies were wasting away! Shame on you!
Did I just give you whiplash? ;) Just in case this doesn't translate well in writing, my tongue is set firmly in my cheek.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Deedles, my winterphobia has been inherited from my mother, I can't help it lol. I actually like fall, it's cool nights, less bugs. All the colors, pumpkins, a lot of the smaller towns have fall fairs. I do actually enjoy it. Winter here is very unpredictable, it can come in the middle of November or wait until Christmas, so it can be really long or not so bad.
I actually don't like rhubarb but every time I say that, people go bananas, so if you don't like it, I luv you even more!!! Lol
Everyone keeps telling me that tomatoes are a fruit so there!!! :D

Richard said...

I wish it would cool down here. It's going to be almost 100 here today and tomorrow. September always feels like the end of summer for me too.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Richard, I'm actually freezing right now, I'm going to work outside in the sun to see if I warm up a little.

Anitia Moorecock said...

you can keep that weather. we have warm temps right up to october...adore a good indian summer.

Dave R said...

Oh, dear, you're suffering from Gardner Grief. You need to jump up to the next letter of the alphabet which is H and stands for Happy Harvester! Can some of the rhubarb so you can make rhubarb pies in the dead of winter to remind you of summer (I love rhubarb pie!). I love the fall!

Michael said...

Hi Steven! I lament the passing of summer too, but for me it is more about having to lose the relaxed pace of not having to teach and get up at 4:50 every morning. I noticed it is getting darker here earlier, but the temps still climb into the high 80s every day. Usually October is the month that I notice the temps starting to get markedly cooler. And from growing up in upstate NY, I remember that winter lasts a long time....

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Anitia, I think now it's called indigenous peoples summer, to be more correct. Anyway, yes we love it too... as long as it's not ball roasting hot!

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Dave, I'm freezing everything I can before... Attack of the Killer Frost! Ahhh!

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Michael... yes a looong time. Sigh.

Ur-spo said...

Do come visit as September remains hot as hell what with 40C and no clouds it might as well be July.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Dr Spo, hold that thought for when I'm under three feet of snow! :D