Temperature is down

Things are looking up. The fires in Colorado are under control, my friend Mary is back in her home. Even though many parts of her neighborhood are devastated, only two lives were lost to the inferno. The National Guard has set up a checkpoint next to Mary’s house. There are scores of police patrolling the streets of her neighborhood. The Red Cross is nearby with offers of help. I’m not sure the National Guard, police and the Red Cross will protect her from the rattlesnakes and bears that were displaced by the fire. Mary’s Facebook posts have returned to normal. I have breathed a huge sigh of relief and wonder if I should find some rattlesnake repellent to send to her.
It will be a long time before all the houses that were destroyed or damaged are rebuilt or repaired but now that the worst is over, the healing can begin. I imagine that the nervousness that accompanies the smell of smoke will hover for a long time.
There are other fires in other places. There are other people still in danger of losing their homes. My prayers remain with them.
The local heat wave has finally loosened its grip and temperatures are closer to normal. This has made it easier to finish a few projects around the house. When the heat settles over us like an electric blanket out of control I don’t want to do anything.
I remember my grandmother telling me that when she was little they had an ice house and she loved to go in there in the summer and steal ice chips. They would cut ice blocks from the frozen creek in the winter and they stored the blocks in a building lined with straw bales. I’m wishing I had an ice house of my own.
The soaring temperatures combined with the lack of rain made me especially concerned about fireworks this year. I usually have to pick up a load of firework debris out of the yard every July. As dry as the grass is, I was afraid we would end up with our own fire. Luckily, people were considerate and kept their fireworks to themselves. I am very thankful for that.
The garden is starting to produce. I have managed to crunch a few snap peas and tiny carrots. We had our first cucumber the other evening. It was delicious. Our tomatoes aren’t showing signs of ripening but they are growing nicely.
I read that scientists finally discovered why a supermarket tomato is so nasty. It seems that when they modify the tomatoes to withstand the rigors of being shipped all over the country while maintaining their rock-hard, uniform shapes, they unwittingly modified the gene that controls sugar content. And, as we all know, sugar makes things taste better.
I think when they determined why home-grown tomatoes taste better, they forgot to factor in the hard work that goes in to gardening. All that sweat equity adds up. When you realize what it takes to plant, grow and harvest the food we eat, it just naturally tastes better. Plus, in the home garden, chemical use is optional.
All in all, things are looking up. It has been said that the only constant is change. Fires eventually die. Triple digit temperatures give way to double digits. Gardens grow and vegetables ripen. Nothing ever stays the same and for that, I am eternally grateful.[[In-content Ad]]