Ahhhhhhh...........Summer In Arkansas......

I know summer is here when I get my first vine-ripened one of these:
To me, garden ripe tomatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe are the tastes of summer. Cecil brought in a HUGE, sweet, delicious cantaloupe Tuesday, and graciously left me half of it. I finished it off last night as a late night snack. It was yummy, too! I haven't had a watermelon, they aren't ready yet. Should be some ready by July 4th, though. One thing about the mild drought we're having, it usually makes all the fruit and melons sweeter. We'll see. I certainly hope it does.

A good friend and neighbor keeps us supplied with garden produce all summer. He makes a huge garden and shares with the whole neighborhood. He has never been married, but he has always gardened and froze and canned his produce, besides what he generously shares with the community. And by the way, he is 87 years old. I am 42 and I couldn't do what he does. Bless his heart, he is out there every day in the sweltering heat, tending to his garden. He can afford to buy his produce, but it's a labor of love, and he says it gives him something to get out of bed for every day. It's probably why he is still going strong at 87 and I'm grunting and groaning all day long, too.

He gave us our first 3 ripe tomatoes of the summer yesterday. They are still a little firm and not quite ripe enough by my standards, so they're ripening for slaughter on top of the microwave. He is keeping us supplied with cabbage, yellow squash, cucumbers, and plenty of Kentucky Wonder green beans. I like all green beans, but in my opinion, you can't beat Kentucky Wonders for flavor. I don't particularly like stringing them, but they're so good I don't mind it too much.






As my grandma would say, we're eatin' high on the hog right now. I do love the fresh garden produce of summer, it is one of the advantages of summer. One thing that I haven't had this spring is wilted salad made with garden lettuce and green onions. It just doesn't taste the same made with store-bought lettuce and green onions. Fry up some crisp bacon or salt pork and then pour the smokin' hot grease over the torn lettuce and chopped green onions...........Mercy, I can eat a dishpan full of the stuff. And don't knock it until you try it, folks. Mama always put fresh garden radishes in her wilted salad, but I'm not too fond of radishes.

Some things about summer I'm not fond of all include these things: FLIES,mosquitoes and the HEAT. Every time the door opens, more flies buzz in. I despise the nasty critters. If it's not flies, it's mosquitoes. The flying bloodsuckers are lurking everywhere, especially close to dark, through the night and early morning. If you want to know if anyone plays Little League or any other night time sport, or is a parent, just look for the mosquito bites. And anyone who likes night fishing or coon hunting or any of the other after-dark pursuits around here must like getting blood transfusions. I'll just donate mine to the Red Cross, thank you very muchly. Even if they miss the vein once or twice, it's better than donating it a little at a time to the bloodthirsty winged hordes. Plus there's the itching thing, not to mention the various and sundry diseases both flies and mosquitoes carry. Ewwwww.............(shudder)

Then there's the HEAT. I hate to be hot. I also hate to sweat. Usually being hot is followed very shortly by sweating. I. Don't. Like. Being. Hot. And. Sweaty. 'Nuff said? Summer in Arkansas means lots of both if you're outside at all. Even at night the temperature sometimes doesn't drop below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Ick...OH, ICK!! Between the flies, mosquitoes and the heat, don't I sound like a tourist brochure for Arkansas? Y'all come, now. Ya hear? :-)

Okay, that's all I have for now, blogging friends. I have a Father's Day post for this weekend I am working on, and I hope to post something else before then. Hope everyone is having a Great week, and blessings to all. :-)