Vegetables and Chocolate

Ewww, doesn't exactly sound like a tasty combination, but the pictures I just downloaded are of the few veggies I've managed to coax from a very dry garden that's struggling in the extreme heat - extreme even for Washington in July - and Hershey Park, which we visited last week.

Veggies and Chocolate

The boys had a blast at the park, riding lots of roller coasters that at best made me lightheaded and at worst made me want to puke (look straight ahead, don't close eyes!) but I was a good sport and rode with them every time...well, once I got off after 3 trips on the same coaster...the worst part of which wasn't the death-defying drop but the sudden stop it made right before the end! It was a HOT day at the park (every day in July has been HOT!) but we stayed cool by spending some time getting soaked at the water park and visiting the chocolate museum.

Now the veggies... I've just been outside removing a load of dead (possibly diseased) vegetation from the zucchini/courgette plant and spraying it for powdery mildew. Should have caught that earlier but I've been literally running outside, soaking everything, and running back in without looking too closely. We've had a few tomatoes from a very sad and spindly looking tomato plant. Thankfully the tomatoes are very good, even though the plant is suffering! And I finally got some blueberries from our blueberry bushes, which clearly LOVE the heat as they look great. I think the peppers will be good when they finally appear, as the plants that almost died in the Spring when the nights dropped below 60 are just thriving in the heat and humidity.

Wish I were a pepper plant or blueberry bush right now! We are absolutely dying in the heat that has descended on us. I went running at 6am this morning...at Burke Lake so we'd be out of the sun. When I got up at 5am it was already 80 degrees. Doing anything outside involves discomfort and copious sweating. It really is nasty. I took the boys to Chuck e Cheese (indoor playplace that I usually steer clear of because of its germ-infested qualities) yesterday and a movie is planned for today. We've been listening to Halloween music in the car just for fun and all I can say is roll on Fall!!!