Tuesday

It's not even noon and they say it feels like 101F (38C) outside. Our thermometer on the porch gives me a slightly cooler reading of 96F (35C). But the humidity is something else! We are sizzling out here in south central Wisconsin. If you're south of us, you'll have little empathy -- I hear you're not only sizzling but downright broiling. Eek! Welcome to the presumer summer. (Hey, what happened to spring? Oh, I see. It was washed away with the cold rains of early June.)

(stepping out into a steamy garden)

In the morning, before the heat beast lumbers in to smother us, I weed. In the lavender field (which is only moderately successful).

(On the other hand, the tomatoes are all happy and thriving!)

(You know who else is really happy? This very young monarch. Welcome, little guy!)

And I weed the more distant flower fields.

And I get my share of bites. Not mosquito, but deer flies. June, unfortunately, brings out the deer flies. I can only be mollified because I know that theirs is a two or three week visit. I do not know where they go next and I don't care: so long as they move on, I am happy. 

Breakfast is on the porch as a gift to me. I mean, it is toasty out there! But Ed knows how starved I am for porch breakfasts.

Then -- here's something new: Ed is reading up on broiler chickens. No, not the ones in your local grocery store. The ones raised on a farm just up the road from us. 

Are you interested in picking one up for us?

Um, why do you ask?

Because I thought we'd go up to One Seed Farm and chat to them about raising broilers. And while we're at it, we can pick up one of their birds. Frozen. For our own use. A five pounder.

Ask questions about raising broilers? Are you thinking we should raise broilers?

It's just an exploratory idea.

You think we should cut chicken necks with an ax and serve our pets for dinner??

You dont do the butchering. Someone else does it for you.

So one minute we're chasing Henny around the farmette lands and the next we're handing her over to a person with an ax?

No, it's not like that. Let's just go get our frozen chicken and talk to these people. You do know about Bresse chickens, don't you? (I do: they are a legendary French chicken that is purported to taste like no other chicken anywhere.)

You think we may be able to raise Bresse chickens here? In Wisconsin? At the farmette?

Let's just go visit a farm tomorrow. One step at a time.

So we have a date. For tomorrow. Honestly, I do not know where this is heading, but you cannot say that Ed is bereft of interesting ideas.

As for kids -- you want to know what's happening with the grandkids, right? Well, each week is different for each grandchild. Primrose and Juniper are attending summer school in Chicago. This week, Snowdrop is attending Robot camp in Madison and Sparrow and Sandpiper are home with a sitter. Next week -- well, that's next week. For now, I have a few days to catch up on farmette work and on Like a Swallow work. As Ed says -- we have such a comfortable life! Farmette work and a retreat to a cool house at the end of the day. What could be better!

With love...