Oh wait this is something different! Hello to the sisters in Houston!!!! I know that Alton is a little slow when it comes to updating his blog and that you have been referred to this site. And he started out so strong! I need to ask you ladies if Dwayne and Alton talk to themselves incessantly everywhere they go or if it's just up here? I never know when I should be listening! Then they look at me like I'm stupid if they are talking to me and I'm not responding appropriately.
It is almost the end of August. I have watched the landscape turn from the bright fresh greens of spring, to the deeper hues of summer and now I look around and see more and more browns and rusts pushing in. I can't even believe I have been here for 3 months already. I can't believe this will all be over in a month...
Our days are pretty routine. Up, out to the garden, in for lunch, out to the garden, in for a break, wash veggies, in for dinner (usually 9 or 10'ish), and then bed.
On Thursday the temperature was 93 degrees and I think I broke. I found myself despising every bean, green and yellow, in that garden that needed picking! If the fence had been electric I really think I might have thrown myself into it! Then the guys turned on the irrigation and life got a little better. My feeling for beans has not changed and I doubt it ever will. If you can see the look on Alton's face you will understand how very hot it was. He looks almost orga..., I mean euphoric as that cold canal water hits him.
Now it's time to visit one of the markets! This is Sheila. She works for the BC Okanagan Fruit Truck and she's incredibly nice and so funny! I think I've mentioned we always try to get a spot next to this truck as everyone seems to buy fruit.
On Friday morning Dwayne and I were scheduled to do the Attridge Market, however, upon waking that morning Dwayne was starting to come down with a cold. Alton immediately gave up his "day off" and got ready and the 2 of us were off to Saskatoon by 7am. Dwayne's body was calling for a break. We took off today to rest and get ready for Dwayne's sister, her husband, and Mavis to come for dinner. I had not met Janice or her husband, Heinz, but now I have! 
We have a schedule devised where we rotate who goes to market and who stays home to pick for the next day if needed. Sunday and Wednesday are our days off, but that doesn't always happen. It's all in the hands of mother nature.
This is Jerry. We call him "Jerry the Fish Monger" (above). He sells fresh sockeye salmon, gourmet mustard and marinades, as well as fresh wild blueberries and chanterelle mushrooms. And this is Chantalle. She sells "stuff". Another genuinely wonderful person.The gardens, the growing, the picking, the hours, the physical and mental exhaustion, the people I've met...I don't think I will soon ever forget this summer.
Oh, does Alton still have a Blog? I thought that was a thing of the past. As far as "the looks" are concerned, its them. I've learned to tune them out. I just smile and nod every once in a while, just like I do with other elderly people who have spent too much time in isolation. I've found it helps if talk a little bit louder to them, as well.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good Blogging! You are wonderful, and a natural!
I recognize Alton's blissful look in the water-when it got hot at the nursery we used to turn the hoses on him and soak him completely-he got the same look. Always envied him because we couldn't do that-we had to sweat and suffer.
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