Summer...where are you???

Here we are, on the verge of the summer solstice, and I'm still wearing jeans, long sleeved shirts, and fleece products...what is wrong with this picture? I am ready for some heat, some real heat, some it's-so-hot-I'll-kick-Mark's-butt-in-tennis kind of heat, some I'm-so-hot-I-can't-sleep kind of heat...okay maybe not that much heat, but some nice NW heat would be a pleasure. Sadly, judging by my recent trip to www.wrh.noaa.gov I'm pretty sure we're in for more of the same moderate drizzle, or the threat there-of, and nothing resembling shorts-and-flip-flops, kick-back-with-a-cold-Pilsner kind of weather. Bummer dude.

But, the flower garden does seem to be pretty happy--not a whole lot that's needed to suffer the dry heat yet, so the flowers are looking good and the blossoms on everything from lupine to lavender seem to be going strong. Even the lithodora has lingering flowers.











And there have been a few bees around--I'm still holding out for the glorious swarms that come to attend to the English Lavender once it's in full bloom--but the few brave souls venturing out in the early summer chill have earned my respect.

Unfortunately, the veggies aren't faring as well as the flowers, but there is some hope. The green globe artichoke I planted last year survived the winter and is off to a brilliant start, with lots of small artichokes popping up on its stems, like flames on a candelabra. Last year the two measly artichokes the plant produced were infested with earwigs--nothing says unappetizing like an earwig! This year, the plant seems to be holding it own.

With the summer off to a cold start, I think I'm glad I ran out of energy when it came to prepping tomatoes. I think tomatoes are going to be a losing NW proposition this year, unless we see a spectacularly warm end to the summer. For now, I'll just be grateful for the few things that are showing promise. And perhaps it won't be long before I can reap the benefits of the vigorous strawberry crop...there, under some big green leaves, were a few bright red berries, portending the bounty to come.