Well,
it’s that time of year again when the kids have one last weekend before
returning to class. Parents get to spend lots of cash on school supplies and
fees that are not covered by the school taxes they pay. On the plus side,
parents don’t have to try and figure out what they are going to do to keep the
kids entertained for the summer while they are at work. All in all, it is a
good thing the kids are getting back to class. I want those kids educated up so
that they can get out and have good jobs when they grow up so that the pension
fund continues to be filled. GO KIDS!
It is
also the time of year when I start to think that the grass is growing slower
which means that it needs cutting less often. It isn’t growing slower; I just
like to convince myself that it is. My friends on Vancouver Island never get to think the grass has stopped growing...suckers! Mind you
they have forgotten what a snow shovel is.
Of course
the end of the summer is also the time when I can literally reap what I have
sown. In the spring I planted carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, peas and
for some inexplicable reason we planted kale. We have had new potatoes from the
garden a couple of meals now and I think I am in seventh heaven. I am not sure
if they actually do taste better than the store bought variety or if I am
simply justifying all of the water I sprayed on them this summer. The peas have
been long ago harvested and every time I open the freezer I se the half baggie
of peas I can’t help but think the $3.50 I paid for the peas in the spring was
far too much. I am sure that I did something wrong, but for the life of me I
don’t know what it was.
The
tomatoes are plentiful but sadly I have yet to see even a pinkish tinge on the
green skins. There are a few more weeks of potential growing and ripening, but
I suspect I will end up covering them in newsprint down in the basement while
they take their own sweet time to turn red. The carrots are safely in the
ground and it is with great expectations that I will have a good harvest. I
will settle for “goodish”. Louise’s pepper plants seem to be doing well and a
couple of the plants have edible green peppers. Yes, she bought red pepper
plants but that is far too much to hope for.
Thankfully
I don’t rely on the garden to get me through the winter. I put my trust in the
many grocery stores that dot Calgary ’s landscape.
I have
been thinking for most of the spring and summer what it must have been like a
couple of hundred years ago. I have always thought that even though fresh food
would be in short supply toward the end of a particularly harsh winter, the
spring would bring fresh food. If my garden is anything to go by, those poor
bastards from two hundred years ago will just be getting full bellies mid to
late August. That is just in time to prepare for the lean winter to come.
Once
again I am thankful to have been born when society can organize food processing
and distribution to allow me to effortlessly over eat. Just as long as I
continue to have cash in my pocket I will be able to put food in my mouth.
