Getting ready for summer

Laura and Daniel's baby boy was born yesterday, another tiny baby for our family to love and nurture. Congratulations Laura and Dan, and grandma Tricia, my beautiful sister, who will be a wonderful grandmother.

♥♥♥

We have two long seasons where we live - summer and winter - and two much shorter seasons - spring and autumn. Officially summer starts here on 1 December but really, about half way through November, the humidity sets in and we all feel like taking to the hills. I usually start preparing for summer in October because sometimes the hot weather arrives early and then all hope is lost of doing the heavy work.

I guess the major part of the heavy work is done outside but as I've been helping Hanno with the outside work since he cut his hand, this year, that is on my list too. We generally let the garden go without any new plantings after November. We planted new greens a few days ago, I still have to plant up those tomato plants in pots I told you about, we have sugar cane mulch to go down on the beds, some pruning, I have to attach a steel frame to the fence to let the berry canes grow along them and a quick mow of the lawn and the backyard will be done.

The bush house is tidy. Soon the pink cactus and orchids in there, and the violas in pots, will fade for another year. I need to repot a couple of hanging baskets for the front verandah and set aside some ferns for the wooden basket my nephew Daniel made for me. The front verandah needs to be de-spidered, the furniture spruced up, cushion covers washed and replaced, the ceramic fish pond cleaned out, scrubbed, refilled with rain water and moved back, out of the summer sun.

There are a few late strawberries, cauliflowers and red cabbages to be picked and already radishes are red and ready, tomatoes are ripening and cucumbers starting to climb their trellises. Beetroot is ready for pickling. I have calendula petals to collect for drying as well as mint and oregano to dry as a precaution, just in case a stray grasshopper wipes out the fresh leaves. There are many seasonal tasks here but they're enriching and pleasant and they remind me that I'm part of the natural world where nothing stays the same. 

Inside, the summer sheets will be going on the beds and light quilts will replace winter doonas/duvets. It's usually such a beautiful time of year when I do that, right now the air is still coolish with the slightest touch of warmth. It gives me hope that this summer won't be as harsh as all those memories I have stored away. Soon the bedroom windows will stay open all night, soon a ceiling fan will slowly twirl over our bed.

We'll stop buying barley and lentils, making do with our stockpiled reserves over summer and replace them with the summer sisters - broccoli and radish sprouting seeds. In the freezer, I'll have to go in search of any stray soup bones lurking in the depths. A late soup will be on the menu if I find any but that's not such a bad thing; it will be months before hearty soups and stews grace our table again. Hidden bones mean an extra goodbye, and with people and with soup, that's not such a bad thing. And that reminds me, Hanno has been stockpiling smoked pork knuckles, sausages and kassler for his annual kale and pork fest. It's one of the last winter meals he has and the kale is ready to be picked for that now. Soon cordials will be mixed up, ice cubes will be clinking and salads being prepared for the evening meal will tell everyone within sniffing distance that summer is here again. 

So while many others put away their knitting, I, and Sue in Perth, will be clicking away with our knitting needles when the first test cricket match starts in early November. That is the first real sign. The cricket and the ice cubes and summer sheets with a slowly twirling fan, they are summer to me. It will start soon. I'd better get a wriggle on.

Times marches on.