Warm and dry

I'm probably going to ramble a bit today. The long run – for this year – of dry weather has made me giddy. It was so nice to be out picking raspberries in the morning without having rain- or fog-soaked berries, leaves and branches to deal with.

Our second crop of peas is producing quite well, although the first crop went by quickly. The goal is to have at least a few fresh peas after next Tuesday, when my wife's sister visits. The other parts of the vegetable garden are showing improvement. I picked a summer squash yesterday. The tomatoes are getting some size to them, but still all green. We have had a bunch of new potatoes.

This morning I watered containers on the patio with water from our rain barrel. The containers weren't bone dry, but they were slightly dry, and I was just so excited that it had been a couple of days without rain and the barrel would have a purpose.

Sunday's column was about the Asian longhorn beetle, the measures to prevent its arrival in Maine and what might happen if it does arrive.

The column this coming Sunday is about the gardens in the area between the sidewalk and the street – with lots of great pictures. I love the idea of people growing plants in what amounts to city property