Walt planted red flax, zinnias, and marigolds around the well this year. They are a dab of color on the green landscape that is our back yard (or garden, if you're British). Inside the well itself we planted mint a couple of years ago and it is flourishing. Yesterday W. used some of it to make mint-chocolate chip ice cream, and it was really good.
Flowers around the well, with a volunteer sunflowerMeanwhile, the tomato harvest has started. So far, we're able to keep up. We have had one, exactly one — count it! — ripe red tomato at this point. I guess we'll eat it for lunch. It is a red Roma tomato, though, and therefore better for sauce than salads. It wouldn't make much sauce, I guess.
Status report: the tomato harvest up to nowIf the weather improves later this week, as they are predicting it will, we should really start getting ripe tomatoes in real numbers. All the talk on TV — it's August, so nothing much is going on otherwise — is about how November-like our weather has been here in the north of France for the past three days.
There are TV reports about tourists from all over the world who are trudging around Paris, in shorts and tee-shirts, and in the rain. The umbrella has become the "must" fashion accessory. Here in Saint-Aignan, we have so far been spared the heaviest rain, which has fallen in Paris and in the east of France, out toward Strasbourg.
Actually, we could use the rain. The ground is dry. But we're just getting the gray and the chill for now. Chill is an exaggeration — the temperature hit 72ºF yesterday afternoon.
Thanks for making me chuckle on a cold, grey and drizzly morning. Although the weather has not been too summery, our ground is also dry. But we have done very well with tomatoes.......from the greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteActually, yesterday it was glorious, so we mustn't grumble. I do hope that warm sunshine comes back for this weekend when we return to the Loire for two weeks.
Ken, apologies for a bit of gratuitous advertising, but you might just find this amusing :
ReplyDeletehttp://myderbyshiredays.blogspot.com/2010/08/derbyshire-weather.html
We've had good rain this time, thank goodness. We missed out on all the July rain and I was beginning to despair.
ReplyDeletegood chuckle :))
ReplyDeleteBut, here's to hotter weather, and some good 'maters soon :))
Judy
Your tomato looks lonely. Artistic but lonely. I hope he has lots of friends to join him soon. Here in ne Ohio we are being inundated with tomatoes. I love it....Also love the flowers around your well. And inside the fake well is the perfect place to contain your mint!
ReplyDeleteWe're just getting a few days of cooler weather here, low 80s, and I'm so glad!