Hello

I've been missing in action for a couple of days.  I haven't been anywhere.  I've just had my nose in books and not doing much of anything to blog about.  The recent storms last week gave us three inches of rain, but it came with some big-time winds that blew down a lot of my last planting of corn.

  Since the wind didn't manage to pull the roots out of the ground, the corn went ahead and matured on the stalks anyway... it was already close to being ready when the rain came.  Today I'll be freezing some of it.  We had corn for dinner yesterday.  We like it best cut off the cob.  I boil it on the cob for 10 minutes, then cool it until I can handle it and cut off the kernels.  That's the same thing I do when I freeze my corn.  We finally have okra but I haven't fried any yet because my recipe for Southern Fried Okra takes buttermilk and I don't have any; this is an instance where you can't use milk with vinegar added as a substitute, the way you can for some recipes.  I've tried it and it didn't work well at all.

The rain came late for the green beans; with no water, they just sort of dried up.  The tomatoes, though, are doing great and giving us plenty for our needs.  That storm gave us a break from the heat wave, so Gabe and I haven't had to walk in the dark; we wait until around 8 A.M. to leave, and it's only been in the low 70's when we return.  I'm going to need an umbrella to avoid being attacked by bluebirds every time I pass their birdhouse as I'm walking out to the pasture:  They swoop down at my head until it's almost scary.  Unwanted birds had taken the bluebird house over in the spring and kept trying to nest in it, but I would tear their nests out before they could finish them.  I guess when they finally gave up, the bluebirds decided to use their house again.

Cliff is doing some work on the Oliver tractor he recently bought, so he comes in for lunch and then goes back to the shop.  It's almost as though he has a job again!  

That's all I have, and I do need to get to that sweet corn. 

Peace.