Vine Maple Farm

I had a busy day today, attending an on-line class that that started at 5:30a Pacific time, which is the time zone of the farm. And I had an evening community college class that I am taking that ended at 9:30p. That’s a down side of working at home for an east coast company– it is hard to avoid working both east and west coast hours. Starting early is OK. I am up before dawn most days, but I find it hard to stop working until Pacific quitting time rolls around. That often amounts to a twelve hour day, which is not bad in the winter, but in the summer when the corn has to be cultivated and the blackberries beaten back, it gets difficult.  Especially because I am not a morning person. I rise early, but I also like to stay up late. This was fine when I was younger, but now, it’s a challenge.

Well, this is enough whining about things that will not change.

At about ten after six, a sprinkle of rain began. It is now coming down hard enough to run off the canvas canopy over the deck and the dogs want to come in. The weather radar barely shows rain. I hope it continues long enough to soak the garden and bring on a flush of weeds. Not that I want the weeds, but the garden will come with the weeds. I love a summer rain like this. I think I can feel the plants flourishing. This will mean a weekend of weeding and mowing, but I hope that will be a pleasure. I had to jump up and check– still coming down hard.

Cloudy with a SE breeze. NOAA predicts clearing by noon. It has been a dry spring. My cousin visited on Saturday and said it is the longest dry stretch in June in many years. The sweet corn planted two weeks ago is waiting for rain to take off, although the grass is still green and everything is still lush. It feels to me like it is building up to a rain, although I can’t say what makes me think it, but NOAA gives it a 50% chance of rain on Wednesday.  Summer rain is delightful, especially if you don’t have hay cut. Some years, getting hay cured and in the hay mow before it is ruined by the rain is hard.