Ø Spring into Summer in PA –
Spring and the beginning of summer in the lovely Susquahanna Valley of Pennsylvania brings rain and lots of it, then warmer temperatures and of course, humidity. I HATE humidity. An 80 degree day with 90% humidity makes it feel like 100 degrees. Even worse, it blankets you like a thick, heavy (handcrafted and colorful, tightly hand stitched, made by little Amish and Mennonite women) cotton batted, wool-lined quilt !
Hot, muggy, sticky, stifling, heavy, oppressive, draining, sweltering, clammy, sweat-inducing, pulling the life out of you, FRICKING humidity. It sucks. Really. But, there is believe it or not, an upside to the heat, rain and humidity . . . .
Fresh STRAWBERRIES ! Roadside stand fresh. Out of the bushel basket into the green pint container, placed with care by a cute little Amish kid with bare feet and red juice stained fingers from those beautiful, plump, fresh berries. Juicy and sweet. Flavor that can't be compared. Burst in your mouth, sunshine in a berry, taste-bud stimulating, mouthful of happiness, strawberry goodness ! It takes me back to times at my Grandmothers farm garden in Iowa, wandering into soft rich black dirt of her garden to search for the perfect ripe Strawberry to pick, blow off the dust and eat! Nothing better. Well, maybe fresh off the vine sun warmed tomatoes from the garden, or sweet peas, or carrots, or radishes, or well, anything that fresh.
We are blessed to have an abundance of roadside stands of fresh produce, fruit and other handmade goods. Many still work on the honor system, with a tin can to drop your pocket money and dollar bills and make your own change. You can even find farm fresh brown eggs in coolers on the bed of a hay wagon for a buck-fifty. All season long. And Sweet Corn (in approximately 27 days per the “Ear of Corn" countdown sign on Route 23 outside Silver Spring, PA – a whole other blog waiting on this! Besides the little neighbor garden stands, we also have the pleasure of Farmers Markets, Co-ops, community gardens and Farm Shares, all of which have local, and organic, offerings and the opportunity for participating in the soil prep, planting, caring, harvesting. I may have to drive a bit to get to some of these places, but it is well worth it.
So even though the heat and humidity totally suck, I gotta get out, brave the weather and support my local growers and farmers. It’s healthy and good for me (and I suppose the daily “sweat lodge” humidity ritual has some cleansing value – positive mental attitude mind game I play with myself for motivation).
So even if you don’t have this luxury within your immediate proximity do what you can to support local growers and sustainable farming.
Buy Local !
Teaser: next blog post - "Chicken shit" (bet ya can't wait? )
Wait. You have not lived until you have experienced West African humidity in a bush taxi (read: Toyota four door) with eight other people. Ask Jess. And I was there in the "Cool season."
ReplyDeleteOH, Grandma's gardens!!!
I remember going back home one summer to Iowa with the kids, ages 13 and 15, We stopped at the Outlet stores. It was summer and the humidity was wicked. I tried on a cute black dress from the Gap, and I said to Jess, "How does this look?" And she replied (with the sarcasm of a teenager), "What, with the sweat pouring off of you like water???" Needless to say, I did not buy it.