Typically at this point of July the summer hear is becoming intolerable and it will last well into August. The saying dog days of summer originates with the rising of Canis major, a bright star in the constellation Orion. The actual star has no impact on the heat from the sun, but rather signals the arrival of late summer heat. Currently we have come to associate it with a new surge in COVID.
This year is no different, cases are on the rise, which is why I was recently vaccinated.
But the dog days of summer is also when gardens start producing more. This got me to thinking about our garden in the first years of the pandemic. We had already increased our pantry space for flour, dried beans, rice, pasta and polenta. With that alone we could have endured months (if not a year) of isolation. But then we planted every inch of the garden to full capacity.
As can be seen from the above list of what we got from the garden it was prolific. All of this from perhaps 400 square feet. With all of the tomatoes there was a lot for canning, as well as eating with salads, sandwiches and soups. Each squash provided at least two meals. The garlic lasted a year. Many of the cayenne peppers were dried and set aside for the next year. Jalapeños were eaten fresh or pickled for later use. All in all we could have made it well into the next year with what we had grown.
But now, some five years later we don’t pack the garden as fully as we did then. We have even more herbs and garlic. Flavor is important to both of use. So we really enjoy our herb garden, although dill and mint are rather feral growing wherever they decide to.
But nature also has it’s own relationship to these hot days. This manifests itself as the dog day cicada. We all were aware of cicadas during the mass emergences of 17-year cicadas. But every year in mid-July until August dog day cicadas appear with their songs dispersed through neighborhoods.
These large insects are green unlike the 17-year cicadas and are never nearly as abundant.
So, now it’s time to sit back, enjoy insect sounds, the garden, be aware of COVID and get back to reading Sacré Bleu.
Until next time…
Michael's Place 