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| Piglette enjoying the sunshine |
... have not yet arrived here in the SF Bay area. Granted, given our latitude and proximity to the sea, temperatures rarely reach extremes, but we usually have an "Indian Summer" around late August/early September. This summer has seemed cooler than in the past. I wear sweaters and long sleeves more often, and heat-loving tomatoes don't seem to be flourishing as they once did.
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| The veggie garden |
Actually, the tomatoes are downright sad. By now, the plants are usually starting to outgrow and tip over their cages, so I have to jerryrig extra support for them. This year? The little yellow pear has two wimpy branches, one of which shot out a dozen sad fruits early on and then turned brown. The glacier has halfway filled a small size cage and is producing a fair number of golden fruits for its size. The paste tomato plant is doing better in size, but the stink bugs went nuts and there's not enough tomato left to eat after cutting away the damaged bits. The paste tomato issue may have more to do with the fact that I have swiss chard running rampant in the garden for the bugs to hide out in, than the weather, but it could be a contributor, somehow.
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| Gigi thrives in all conditions |
Beyond the tomatoes, the bell peppers and summer squash are, as my housemate says, lilliputian. The basil is yellow. And the cucumber plant is a single, tiny vine that has produced only one actual cucumber and three flowers so far.
On the bright side, cooler weather means I don't sweat much riding my bicycle to the accounting gig. Sweat means sticky clothing, even if you change once you get there!
Still, I am hoping for a few nice, warm days here before the coolness of autumn hits.
