Planning for Summer Delights

I am home after running several errands today. Got all the swag for Mother’s Day, which is rather complicated.

I also got a couple of activities for my mom and me to do while she is recovering from her surgery. Travel Scrabble, so we can play on my mom’s bed if she isn’t up to sitting in a chair and a puzzle of some artwork by a tattoo artist. Not so sure that my mom will appreciate that, but it will look good finished and hung in my room.

Outside it is glorious. I bought some herbs. I need to get a few more as I am light on mints. We have a porch, so I have visions of the fragrant mints greeting me as I walk into my house in the afternoons, flavoring some iced tea on a hot afternoon. I also have lavender, rosemary, and basil. I am putting them in the front so the smell perfumes the evenings. I am hoping that when the bedroom windows are open – the bedroom is above the porch- our bedroom will be scented with the herbs. I have some thyme that is awesome on chicken or fish. I also have some basil.

We love basil with lemon and pasta; basil, tomatoes, garlic, and good olive oil spread over baguette, topped with fresh mozzarella and popped in the oven until the cheese is bubbly and gooey; fresh basil, Italian sausage and tomatoes on pizza.

The best thing is that we are going to plant some tomatoes. I will only eat peaches that smell like peaches. They are hard to find, but it is possible. I will only eat cantaloupe that smells like cantaloupe. A bit easier to find than the peaches. Fresh sweet corn beats the pants off anything frozen. All of these can be found in the grocery.

But tomatoes… Poor, hard, rubbery, mealy tomatoes are about all that make it to the stores. A fresh, vine ripened tomato… now that is nature’s poetry. A few years ago, Hubby and I managed to grow a few tomatoes on the deck of our apartment. They were wonderful. They smelled incredible and tasted like, well, tomatoes.

One of the reasons we wanted a bit of yard was to plant a few vines of that summer delight. Hubby is already dreaming of bacon and tomato sandwiches.

For now it is all about planning and waiting; nurturing and protecting; watering and fertilizing. And a warning to all you bastard aphids, bugs, and assorted plant rapers – I may not have a gun, but I will kill you if you touch my plants. Don't try me.