Rhubarb Fool

The sun is actually shining as I wander through my morning routine. Open the patio door to let the dogs out noticing a definite nip in the air. This is August still, and it should be hot, with temperatures in the high 20's during the day...NOT single digits overnight - that's November/December weather here. Yes, I'm grumbly this morning. Wanna make somethin' of it?!! Time for cappuccino and the news.

New Orleans under mandatory evacuation. God don't screw this one up people. Still more recalls and illness from the Listeriosis outbreak. Liberal campaign ready to go...oh yawn. Canada sends one of it's Boeing C-17 Globemasters to the Louisiana Gulf region to assist with medical evacuations . Good on ya Canada. Now, if Homeland Security will ACTUALLY let you help this time...

Time to go outside and roll up the beach ma...Hey, Richard already did it for me before he left for work. Well bless his pea-pickin' heart! The dogs and I meander in the yard. I peruse my much ignored mini pea patch, noticing that yup, the Mole People have been back, moving one of the red clay pots. I move it back. Harrumph. The Scarlet Runner beans are busy running up the stucco wire on the shed, and the tomato plants are actually looking quite good. My 3 sage plants are doing well and so is the thyme.

I pull some weeds, then move on to check my little Rhubarb plant that Dad sent to me in the mail. I LOVE Rhubarb and have wanted a piece of his plant for years. He finally sent me some July. I soaked it in water for a week, then planted it. It took off and never looked back, having 7 leaves now. I can already taste all those delicious Rhubarb treats!

On to the potting table and then out to the garden boat. It's still cool, so I only stay long enough to start thinking about plants that will over-winter in the boat and plants that will have to be dug up and potted to over-winter indoors. I am curious about the Pineapple Sage I have growing. I note that it is getting quite large - later I will look it up on the web and discover that this plant will amaze you with its sweet scent and beautiful red flowers, it grows up to 8 feet tall and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. This a great plant in a pot or in the ground. Sweet pineapple flavor can be used to sweeten chicken, coleslaw or pork. Perennial. 8 feet tall!!! Good grief, um, maybe I should take some cuttings and pot up as well as get Richard to build it it's own cage. Gosh, 8 feet you say. Well then...

...I start counting potted plants that will have to move indoors when the coldest weather hits. Um, 1, 2, the herbs can stay outdoors, they are tough, 21, 22, 23, and the tomatoes and cucumbers can freeze down, I won't try and over-winter them, 44, 45, I can put some pots in the living room, 58, 59, 60, some in the dogs room, goodness I think there will be around a hundred pots to find room for. Gonna have to nag Richard to close in the front deck like he suggested. And maybe let him build that lean-to on the back of the wood shed like he wanted to earlier to put some in. Going to have to cook or bake something special to soften him up for moving all those plants.

I need to go and purchase a dish drainer to replace the one the Mole People bombed. They are way too expensive at Extra Foods, and while I probably will get it at Walmart, I decide to check out Canadian Tire first. And while I am there I may as well check out the 25 cent plants, right? Right??

40 plants later, I am in the van and heading out. As I drive in front of the store, I notice several other racks of plants I never saw before, and the sign says "All Plants 25 cents". I cruise slowly by, trying to see what types there are, but a woman behind me is impatient, and beeps her horn. WELL, REALLY! I wasn't going THAT slow. Over to Walmart for my dish drainer, an all-in-one this time. Then off home to quickly unload and try to hide er, that is, um, place, my new plants in amongst the "old". I got 14 Ivy Geraniums this time, 12 double Impatiens, 3 Rosemary plants, 8 Gazania, and 3 Fuschia's. For those of you keeping track, that is 119 plants, and I have half of them potted up already.

Time to go home and water the tomatoes in the garden boat as they are looking decidedly woebegon. Since Richard put the watering tank beside the boat for me, watering is a breeze and I soon have it all done. I brush against the Fernleaf Dill as I reach to water a rose bush and the odor of it wafts up, making me hungry for all things dilly.

It's warm in the sun, and I take my time, picking and poking at weeds and flowers. The zucchini plant near the dill has done nothing all summer, so I ruthlessly yank it out and toss it over the fence for the deer. In it's place, I put the Lupine I bought the other day and a mini rose. They will do well there. I make a mental note that I will have to dig up both the Summer Savory and the Lemon Scented Geranium before frost sets in. I hate to do it, as they are really thriving but they will die in the cold. I will also dig up the Osteospermum; they are some of my favorites as well as the Argyranthemum, aka Marguerite Daisy. Don't think they are frost hardy.

The dogs are lazing in the sun, and so am I. But it is time to start planning dinner. Hamburgers - yum - grilled on the Outdoor Gas Convection Oven I think, as well as Grilled Onions, Grilled Potato Patties, and a lettuce and Tumbling Tom tomato salad. That will do the trick.

Back to potting plants. Richard arrives home from work, and my plans for burgers goes out the window. "Had a burger for lunch" he says. So, I settle on chicken wraps: chopped cooked chicken breast, thinly sliced red onions, black olives, grated cheddar, feta, warmed in the microwave and topped with shredded Iceberg lettuce, a dollop of sour cream and some chunky salsa. Great idea!

After dinner we set about moving some of my "plant stands" from beside the driveway - found items I used last year - into the garden yard for me to set some pots on. I say 'we' when you know I mean Richard, and in the process he managed to step full foot into a doggy mine. I snickered, and heckled and made him go out the big garden gate and clean his shoes off, not through the small gate and across the deck, lecturing all the while about watching where he puts his feet down. I had policed the yard earlier in the day, but guess I somehow missed deactivating one of those mines.

You ever hear about fore-shadowing in literature, TV & Movies? You know, when they give you a vague clue about something and then, just when you forget about it...BAM they smack you with it big time?

Mother Nature really does have a sense of humor some days.

No, really, she does.

Just ask me....