Holy smokes, July. 2021

Quite a sunrise on July 6th, with monsoonal moisture in the air.

No rain, though, darn it.

July has been a long, very hot month (and it isn't over yet).  This is the month you want to be outdoors, since daytime lasts and lasts, but it's simply too hot, and now too smoky, to spend much time outside.  Throw in the ongoing drought, and things get dicey.  Nevada City is under mandatory water restriction:  Use 20% less water than last year or you'll pay a fine.  Jimmy and I are finding creative ways to save water!

That thermometer IS in the shade on our back deck.  My garden is a disaster, except for blackberries and strawberries; tomatoes and other veggies couldn't stand the heat (above).  Lucky us to have a great weekly farmers' market!  And a dear friend who has a real handle on growing yummy crops (below).

Aside from the weather, good things have happened.  Evie spent (Thurs-Sat) the hottest weekend of the year with us, while she was on summer break from pre-school.  We sat and played in the kiddie pool, ate homemade mango popsicles, "did" indoor crafts, and giggled a lot.  Below, while she was looking at our latest AARP magazine with Matthew McConaughey on the cover, I asked, "is that your daddy?"  Nooooooo, she replied, and laughed.  Then, with her eyes all a-twinkle:  "It's your daddy!"  You had to be there, but, trust me, it was hilarious for both of us.  We girls can giggle.  And this was just at breakfast!

c

* * *

On July 11th we had a nice surprise.  Our new friends, Hannah and Cody, from Baton Rouge, LA sent a text saying they were now in our area and would love to see us.  We originally met them while staying at an alpaca Harvest Host location in New Mexico back in May.  Read about it here.  Their rig is an older model van, painted really cool, and it's called "Don Vaughn."😃 They pulled in after dinner, hooked up electrics, and then we visited like old friends till bedtime.  The next morning the four of us sat for hours on our back deck drinking coffee before it got too hot.  Really enjoyed their visit.  (No, I've only been to two of those rivers!)

Meanwhile, the farmers' market has an abundance of gorgeous fruit.  I made apricot-pineapple butter one day, above, and canned peaches later on.  Thank goodness a friend bought a case of jar lids and sold me ten boxes, 'cause stores are out of stock!  Everybody is canning this year.  My stash will keep me going for a couple of years!

(Plus a couple of two-cup bags in the freezer.)

Maybe some of you remember how much trouble we had with our windshield wipers while on our trip to the rainy southeast earlier this year.  Well, Jimmy took it to the fixit it shop and seven weeks later (yes!), Tergel came home.  His wallet is lighter, as well, but everything had to be replaced.  They work now!  Welcome home Tergel -- must be time to hit the road.

Everyone knows the horrible fires plaguing the west this summer.  Big and bad fires.  No fire is close to us, but spot fires keep popping up.  People are nervous.  We escaped the smoky skies till yesterday, and now the air quality stinks, literally.  So, tomorrow morning we're outa here, off to the coast, Bodega Bay for a few days.  I'll keep you posted.