Elaine the Gardener

These photos show you my haul from Elaine and Darrell's
 allotment. I wish I had taken my camera to photograph the 
garden—something to do next time.

It’s raining. Today will be my first visit to a wet Farmers’ Market. I’m after fresh produce for dinner tomorrow to serve a cousin. I also have a 1:00 o’clock meeting with the other volunteers of the August arts festival.

Friday, however, was a stunning day. I’m more relaxed about water now, too. For one thing, we keep having showers between bouts of dry heat. Also, drenching the yard for Al and then seeing how quickly the cistern refilled has given me my first insight into the rate of water flow here. The dog days are ahead, of course, and Fall can be very dry, but so far I seem to have bought a house above a healthy aquifer.

Perhaps that’s the biggest change in my life since leaving the city, living with water and power insecurity and not taking either for granted.

Elaine came at nine am yesterday morning and we went to her allotment. What a paradise of a food garden: Peas, Rhubarb, Blueberries, Onions, Raspberries, Beets, Garlic, Artichoke and many more and all in incredible abundance. I so  wish I’d had my camera!

I ate a ton of Blueberries; I regret that decision said the man who spent the afternoon watching The Crown and sitting on the throne. How ironic.

Today I go to the market, bake a lemon tart with raspberries and make fresh ravioli. For a break, I’ll watch more of The Crown.