Billie Jo at Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea made me smile today with her honest post about preferring the indoors as the weather heats up. I relate completely.
And it stirred up this post in me.
Writing recently about putting a garden in, and showing some of the pictures, while I think I've been honest about it being a bit more of a challenge for me this spring, it's easy to make gardening look and sound somewhat idyllic.
The truth is, it's a lot of hard, sweaty and dirty work - for anyone - to put in a garden. If the sun is shining, and the temperature is anything above, say... 68 degrees, and depending on how hard I'm working, I turn into a sweaty mess out there in fairly short order. Because of that, if possible, I save showering for after working outside in the morning. But that isn't possible every day.
In fact, I dislike it so much, on a comfortable day when I don't anticipate getting sweaty or dirty as I work outside, I sometimes forego the bug spray - just so I don't have to take a second shower. I take my chances with the mosquitos, and almost always regret it. Mosquito bites that turn into painful welts aren't pretty, and they are maddeningly distracting for three or four days. The whole situation - painful welts, valiantly resisting scratching - it's pure misery. And ridiculous. And probably not even smart. But I repeat this scenario over and over again. All because I don't want to take a second shower.
I probably have a whole blog post inside me about how much I can drag my feet like an eight year-old over taking a shower - let alone two showers in one day.
But that's a post for another day - or probably not. Today, inspired by Billie Jo, I just wanted to write something I don't know that I say very often.
One of the things I appreciate about gardening is that it gets this seriously heat-averse gal outside in the most miserably hot temperatures, when my natural bent is to stay inside where it is cool and mosquito free. It's been a lot warmer here than normal since March, but our truly miserable heat is expected come July, August and September. The early part of October can even be hot here, though the humidity seems to lessen by then, making the heat more tolerable. And the promise of the first frost and falling leaves makes October's hot days kind of nostalgic feeling.
When our boys were young, I'd take them to the public pool at least a couple of times a week during the hot summer; in one town we lived, we'd visit a nearby lake. On days we didn't go to the pool or lake, we might pull out the sprinkler, or fill up water balloons. Oh, and water guns - those were a favorite, I'm now remembering. It seems to me that we all enjoyed summer.
When the boys got older, and going to a crowded public pool ceased to be as much fun, I think that's when a dislike of summer started to settle into me. Summer became something to endure. That's been my attitude for years now. And I've always felt kind of bad about it. To dislike a season that is responsible for providing much of the world's sustenance seems pretty ungrateful.
And sometimes... like today... we get treated to a pop up rain storm that totally refreshes everything, cools things off. In the spring, these showers are expected from time to time. In the summer, a shower like this feels like a gift.
One of my doctors and two rehab nurses have told me people shower too often! Bad for the ecology of the skin. So there's that.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things my son liked in midsummer was when I defrosted the big freezer and threw the chunks of ice outside to play with. Snowball fights in July.
Yes... I've come to understand that, too, Liz. It is fortunate that (at least my) skin becomes oilier when the weather turns warmer and more humid, since that same weather sometimes creates the need to shower more often. Snowball fights in July sounds fun!
DeleteI haven't planted a garden in years. But when I did, I planted seeds in March and started harvesting in May. By July my garden was shriveled up and dieing. Well, all but my zucchini. Can't kill that stuff lol.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you can grow zucchini in your summer heat, Marsha. I just saw that your temps may reach 111 tomorrow, and remain in the triple digits for a couple of weeks at least. We sometimes reach over 100 for a day or two in the summer, but I have trouble comprehending the kind of sustained heat you get in the southwest.
DeleteOurs lasted a few hours and gave us another two and a half inches of rain. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I am thankful that God watched over us and nothing severe happened.
I'm glad you are enjoying getting out!
You all be safe and God bless.
I'm glad you were safe, too, Linda!
DeleteBecki, the delay of high temperatures here in New Home 2.0 (we are just now starting to hit the mid-80's) has been a blessing; at New Home we are well into the second month of 90 F plus humidity. I am not ashamed to admit I do not miss it at all.
ReplyDeleteYour new climate sounds pretty temperate and enjoyable, TB. I was seeing yesterday the west is having (or heading into) record high heat. And, supposedly, we're heading into some cooler weather - which is different (and welcome). The weather patterns seem to have been strange for the last few years.
DeleteBecki, I have such respect and admiration for you and your gardening. The heat and the bugs -- reasons I have never gardened. And as I move toward retirement, I don't see that changing. But I am so thankful for people like you who do it, and especially when you share from your bounty! Summer is also my least favorite season -- mainly because of the heat. But it is also a time of year in which many of the challenging times in my life have occurred, and I can't help think of those around the first of May when I am reminded summer is coming. On the flip side, it's also a reminder of God's faithfulness during those times, and during all of the seasons of my life.
ReplyDeleteBob, thank you for the thoughtful comment. Having experienced the loss of loved ones in late February, and now at Christmas time, I find those weeks make me very contemplative and, frankly, blue. It feels like a relief when those periods are past.
DeleteI'll have you know, when I watch videos of folks in the south gardening, I feel a bit jealous of your long growing season - until I remember how hot you can get down there and I get over it real quick.
I planted a ridiculous number of tomato plants this spring. As Greg helped me drive stakes for each of them this week, he has looked at them all glassy eyed, but thankfully, he hasn't even questioned my sanity. The truth of it is, I couldn't find multi packs of tomato seedlings when I first started looking, and when I finally found six packs at less than a dollar a plant (and several of the seed pods had multiple tomato plants), I got so excited, my brain suddenly shut off and didn't consider how many tomatoes all the plants I bought (and transplanted) would mean come harvest time. While I hope to can lots of tomatoes and maybe even spaghetti sauce, I suspect I'll be looking for people to give some of my bounty to come July or August (whenever it comes ripe).
Gardening or even doing yard work is a hot job. I had take that second shower today! I do love summer though even with the heat. It is the cold of winter I can’t tolerate and I live in Florida. Ha! Imagine if I lived where it was much colder. I truly wouldn’t come out of my home.
ReplyDeleteSandy, the older I've gotten, the more I tolerate the cold - which I find both surprising and makes me dread winter less. Now, I realize, as I grow older still, that may change, but for the time being, if we didn't have to endure icy roads sometimes (which strikes fear in me just hearing a forecast of), I'd happily take 6 months of winter if it meant I could skip three months of summer. That said, I'm so glad to hear southerners talk about enjoying their heat and humidity. We can't all live in the same place!
DeleteI can really relate to this post. Gardening is a struggle with nature, and I don’t have it in me anymore. And how do I squeeze it in between work and shower? I’m tempted to hire someone to do the sweaty work while I sit and supervise.
ReplyDeleteAlissa, I think if I had gardened for all the years we didn't garden, I wouldn't be finding this as enjoyable as I am right now. We gardened in the nearly a decade before we had kids, and for some reason, didn't garden for the following 32 years. It didn't occur to me until just now that I probably experience a bit of nostalgia when I'm out in the garden. I do know it makes me feel younger - at least in my mind. My body, on the other hand, feels compelled to remind me daily that I'm not a 20-something year-old anymore.
DeleteI am such a baby when it comes to the heat and humidity. My hat is off to you for making the commitment to gardening, heat and all!
ReplyDeleteI'm a baby about the heat, too, Cheryl. For example, if I have to go out in it, and be presentable, I'm miserable, and honestly will take a pass if I can. For some reason, getting hot and grubby in my own garden doesn't quite illicit the same response from me. I go back in the house whipped by the heat, but I also feel a sense of satisfaction - I think from having a hand in creating something that wasn't there previously. 😊
DeleteWell thank goodness I live in the Scottish Highlands where our weather never really gets too hot. In fact this week it’s been unusually chilly only in the low 50s and I’ve been getting more wear out of my knitwear and our heating has been coming on and I’ve been having to protect my potatoes and courgettes from frost damage. Apparently another icy blast is forecast next week 🙄🥶. Oh and I don’t shower every day, some days if I’m not going anywhere I’ll just have a sink wash, showering and drying is such a bore. Liz (Highlandheffalump)
ReplyDeleteI think I would probably love your climate, Liz. In cooler weather, I do as you do regarding showers. And YES! Showering and drying is a total bore. lol
DeleteI try to go out to the garden every morning for 10 minutes to an hour.
ReplyDeleteSo many weeds! And potato beetles
Ugh. some days I have gotten really sweaty, but I stop before it gets so bad that I need to take a shower. Wr had an intense and quick rain storm, too.
Hello, my friend! And thank you for the kind words. Now I must give you some in return. I am in awe of you and your gift for gardening. My husband and daughter are right now at our farmer's market getting local produce by others who take the time, commitment, and energy to grow nourishing, delicious food and bright, beautiful flowers. I have zero ability to do that! We finally this year in our new home are growing a few herbs that I love to use in cooking. The previous owners were gardeners and left a lovely spot to plant. So Steve and Madison are giving it a go! I didn't realize until I read this how much goes into it. So thank you for sharing! And like you, I have so many happy memories of the kids during the hot summer days. We would go out in the morning and they would play, ride bikes, or swing. We would come in around 11 when the sun started to shine, have lunch, and settle in for the hot afternoon inside. We watched Disney movies or played games. Later, after dinner, we would go outside to play in the plastic pool or use water guns! And I would often sneak inside to make oce cream cones that they would all enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI love summer but don't like the humidity levels that seem to happen more often these days. Having said I love summer does not mean that I can go out in the sun because I promptly break out in an itchy heat rash which isn't the least bit fun. I'm also suspicious of the chemicals in sunscreen so I tend to avoid using it unless I know I'm going to be forced to be in the sun. If I can find a nice spot in the shade where there's enough breeze to keep the bugs at bay I think it's perfect.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you for gardening in spite of summer's heat! I make myself pull weeds in the rock/mulch beds once a week (out of self-defense), walk a couple of miles with my hubby most mornings right after breakfast, and follow that with 4 miles on my bicycle. By then I'm a drippy mess in Florida's heat and humidity and ready to be DONE!
ReplyDelete