June 16 Almanac for Belonging. A short and sweet reminder about watering yourself as well as the gardens.

As I wrote last week, I kicked off the summer season with a revue of what produce has arrived in the local farmers markets: tomatoes, eggplants, courgettes, and the first chilis and peppers. My own potager lags behind a few weeks but will soon catch up. Otherwise Summer has arrived as well on the temperature charts and we are 4-6 degrees Celsius over normal June temps. That means a heat wave is settling in. And while thunderstorms accompany our hot summer days, there isn’t a cloud in the sky for the next couple of weeks, meaning no rain and daily watering as the temperatures soar.

I am fried by 10:30 on most hot mornings—so I get up, plug in the well pump, and start watering the beds of flowering haricots verts and cassoulet pole beans; the raspberries and thornless blackberries are just starting to ripen so they appreciate an extra dose of water to plump up and grow sweeter. My piments d’Espelette still look stunted but I haven’t given up hope yet and keep offering a good soaking while the pumpkin pie vines are finally threading their way across the gravel paths. But what about us?

Stay hydrated! Drink water! Close the windows and doors and stay indoors! Read my next post about making cold soups for a taste of my cucumber/yogurt liquid supper.