Summer has officially arrived and the heat wave that followed seemed determined to prove that the timing was right. With the fourth of July upon us, I think it’s fair to say the weather’s been hot as a firecracker.
The weather man proclaimed last Thursday the hottest day of the year so far, and we spent most of the day inside by the air conditioner. You know it’s been a hot day when it’s still 84 degrees at 11 p.m.! A power outage in late afternoon didn’t help, but, fortunately, it only lasted about an hour and a half, much shorter than one a couple of weeks earlier.
With the hotter weather, we’re having to water our tomatoes and peppers more often. There’s also one cabbage plant granddaughter Alyssa contributed to our garden. There are several tomatoes and peppers on the plants, and a few peppers are almost large enough to pick. I’m still gathering a few strawberries to top my breakfast cereal and have been enjoying some blueberries I bought at the farmers’ market.
Greens are another of my favorite menu items in spring and early summer. I picked a sackful of poke greens from a yard in Southwest City where Jim worked a couple of weeks ago. The late Euell Gibbons, a pioneer health food nut, said, “Poke salad makes one of the most delicious cooked vegetables of the spinach type I have ever eaten,” and Little Rock writer Marcia Camp calls it “wild greens with an attitude” because “from the first bite, the taste of poke salad bites back.” I’ve also purchased some nice fresh spinach at the farmers’ market and bought some lovely beets and cooked the tops for greens.
I’m trying to keep the bird bath filled and water my potted plants more often too. I’ve transplanted some angel wing begonias from my aunt’s house and they’re doing well. The sweet smell of honeysuckle has tickled our noses from the fence row north of the house, and the prickly pear in the front yard has pretty yellow blooms. Despite the heat, day lilies are blooming on top of the cellar. The rose of Sharon bushes are beginning to blossom.
The Texas cousins were here again last week and we’ve been making a concentrated effort to empty the twin aunts’ house and get it ready for sale. Jim has painted several rooms and made many small repairs. Workmen installed new carpet in three rooms and the hall last Tuesday.
The larger furniture has been cleared from the house and we’ve acquired a new couch, a couple of chairs, a bookcase and numerous smaller items (baskets, books, bottles and more) to add to our decor. With a house already as full of clutter as ours, it’s definitely going to take some rearranging to fit it all in.
Last Thursday was definitely not what we in the newspaper business call a slow news day. Jim and I drove out south of town to pick up some metal he’d ordered and, on our way home, passed a newly ignited house fire with smoke clouds boiling upward. Gravette made the TV news that evening with the fire and a vehicle colliding with the post office shortly before noon.
Then there was the power outage that afternoon and police chief Speed Estep’s retirement reception.
Quite a full day!
I wrote in my last column about taking grandson Matthew fishing. His older brother A.J. has been working with Jim since school’s out and he’s been a good helper. The slower pace of summer is a good time to introduce your children or grandchildren to your favorite pastime or hobby. Whatever you enjoy - photography, needlework, scrap-booking, tennis, the novels of a favorite author - it’s fun to develop a mutual interest.
Summer’s a good time to travel and broaden your horizons. Our son and family are off to California to visit relatives there.
Nephew David from Connecticut has been vacationing in Arkansas the last few days, and he and his wife are celebrating their anniversary in Branson this week. Jim and I are planning a trip to Branson ourselves next week. We’re looking forward to having a short break.
Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong Benton
Opinion, Pages 4 on 07/03/2013