When I was out taking the following pictures,
the sky looked like this...
(note the brown dried grass in the field.)


Thunder rumbling in the distance,
coming closer....closer.
I stand here in my garden hoping for rain.
It's been so dry for the past few weeks.


I have come to the garden during the storm's preamble,
in search of ingredients for supper.


Bobby hides in the zinnias as the rumbling continues.
The wind kicks up and my wind chimes start to tinkle.


(Silver plate turned into objets d'art.)


The reason for this trip to the garden is to gather
some squash, onions, tomatoes, thyme and oregano
for a vegetable stir fry.

While there, I check the other vegetables.
We need rain so badly (rumble, rumble...thunder getting closer).
Tomatoes ripening...

Hot peppers,


of all sizes and shapes....


The squash is overflowing its box.


Hidden amongst the vines are acorn, butternut, and spaghetti squashes.


The baby pumpkins are starting to turn orange.


Not long until the brussels sprouts can be harvested....


Grapes, grapes, and more grapes....


In one corner of the garden, a garden fairy...
wearing a sash of poison ivy.
Yikes....she can just keep that sash!


By the time I reached the house, the storm reached us and the heavens opened.
Finally.....rain!

The only one of us who didn't appreciate the storm was Maddie,
our 5 year old Newfie and the biggest scaredy cat!
She hid in the office behind an easy chair...


An hour later, and 10 minutes of power outage,
the storm was over, the sun once again shining, 
and the earth refreshed from its much needed shower.
This gives me a break from watering this morning.
Oh, an extra hour to do something else with.....what a gift!

Comments

This N That said…
What a gift indeed..We got nothing!!! Beautiful pictures BTW..
Junebug said…
I love Maddie, poor thing afraid of the noise I'm sure. Look at all the fruits of your labor, Yum, Yum! We have had three days of rain now so I'm so willing to share some. On the positive side I don't have to water. Enjoy the day, Hugs!
Cindy said…
Lucky you to get some rain! I thought we would get some yesterday, but it went around us.
Your dog is so cute, hiding out. One of our cats has to go to the basement when thunder rumbles.
Your veggies look so good. Yum!
Kim said…
Glad you got some much needed rain. Hopefully we will get some soon too. The pastures are so brown.
Your veggies looks great!
Unknown said…
Wow, totally impressed with your garden...each post gets better and better! Glad you got rain! Definately stay away from your angel's sash...sheesh! The grapes are so gorgeous...as are all the veggies! Enjoy your free hour!
Oh Bev you lucky woman you! Could you please send us some of that wet stuff...we're burning up down here. We've been in the triple digits and high 90's for weeks and weeks and the 7 day forecast is for around 105 temps with no rain other than a 20% chance of storms on Sunday and Monday. I can't remember the last time we actually had rain and the last time we had a real storm with tons of rain was LAST YEAR on the 4th of July weekend! Enjoy your free time from watering....oh that sounds so good ;) Have a wonderful day!
Maura :)
The Agrarian said…
Hi!

I love your blog - although, it reads just like a book (I have read back to Nov 09 thus far - my reading continues).

I've made many notes and you are an inspiration.

I have a couple of questions for you:

a) I know you don't deworm on a set schedule, rather as needed; but when you do use a dewormer, do you keep the manuare after the dewormer separate from your regular manure pile? I would like to start a manure pile for composting, but do not know if it is okay to use the manure after deworming (I have two littles).

b) I love your cat family. So cute. We have one farm cat but several strays that always hang around for food. Like you, I have raised garden beds (only not as high as yours). I've noticed some of the strays are using my garden boxes as potty boxes. Do you have any problems w/this? If so, do you do something special to work around it?

Again, I just love your blog. The pictures are beautiful!

Farmer
Bee Haven Bev said…
Dear Farmer....

You caught me at a good time....taking an iced tea and brownie (guilty pleasure) break from the heat! It is sweltering here today.

Yes, we do separate our dewormer manure from the rest. Mainly so that the dogs don't get into it. We take that manure for about 4 days out to our far land. Some dogs can be very sensitive to the ivermectin type meds.....and honestly, although I am sure it probably washes from the manure before we use it to fertilize, I don't like the idea of using it around our food plants. So......a little extra work hauling it away...usually only once a year or so.

Barn kitties.....well, they spend a lot of time in the garden, lying beneath the tall plants on the cool soil, but I have never witnessed them using the boxes as a potty. I keep a stall in the barn with bedding in it, and usually find many kitty poops there....so I assume that is where they mostly go potty. Honestly, it is so hot and dry right now, they would have a hard time scratching the surface of the garden soil to bury anything, too.

I am not sure what is in these preparations, but there are sprays you can get to repel cats from unwanted areas...perhaps if you sprayed the outside of your boxes, the cats might avoid them.

Thanks so much for your kind words,
Bev
Teresa said…
Glad you finally got some rain. We could use some too, but I'm hoping it comes without the severe weather this time.
Anonymous said…
Seeing Maddie hiding from the storm brought back memories of the beloved dog I grew up with, Prince, he also was petrified of thunder storms and would hid under my mom's bed... he lived to be 20 and was deaf the last few years so the Lord gave him relief from the fright...