Tonight, will be our first attempt at socializing with a group of friends (ten) in a very long while. In addition to what will certainly be a most pleasant change to our routine comes the added bonus of a reason to bathe! Armed with our second shot, we are very much looking forward to a warm evening on an oceanside deck with good friends.

In anticipation of the long awaited bubble bath, E checked the levels in our water tanks. Although they are not full, last weeks rains certainly helped and we are sitting at 4100 gallons which is about where we were this time last summer. If we have just a few well timed rainy breaks over the next two months, we should be fine.

Yesterday, the 40 gallons of water from the range boiler was emptied into milk jugs to use on the deck plants. E needs the tank empty so he can move it while he replaces the boiler stand. He has redesigned the stand to allow us to store wood beneath it. We also bought some more tiles to match the stand to the wall behind the stove. Without the need for a fire in the stove for a few months, it is the opportunity we have waited for to finish this particular job.

You don’t need me to tell you that there is a heat wave coming across our province this weekend but it is worth mentioning for the purpose of historic record keeping. Temperatures predicted for the next five days in the 30’s with Monday expecting to reach 37 degrees. So far we are quite comfortable with high winds coming straight at us. With all of the windows open, the house keeps a very reasonable temperature. So far.

I have never grown peppers before but committed myself to growing the ingredients I would need to make a winter’s supply of salsa and a summer’s supply of Greek salad. I have 8 red peppers, 4 Jalapeno (Ring of Fire) and two yellow pepper plants which have been grown from seed. Until last week they were in one gallon pots in the greenhouse. I harvested the last of the peas last week and just as the heat wave arrived, planted all of the peppers in the garden where the peas had been. The garlic looks almost ready to harvest, which will hopefully make room for the cucumbers.

To Heather and anyone else who counts the unusual number of puns I unintentionally slip into my posts, I count potentially three double entendres and no puns today. In a dedicated effort to provide a more pleasant environment to the blog and put all the recent nastiness away forever, I present to you the flowers which are currently blooming

in the garden

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