Rain...Finally

Hillsborough finally had an appreciable amount of rain on Sunday and Monday accompanied by some lower temperatures - so here is a picture. It was only last summer that the HNJJ was photographing a sunny day in the midst of rain.

We have been trying to determine which plants have been permanently lost to this summer's heat and drought and which may survive, especially our more mature bushes - for example, the rhododendron in the front yard. For some, the final viability conclusion won't be reached until next spring.

Damp ground makes it easier to weed. Up until now we have been able to avoid weeding by swearing that we will get around to it when the temperatures are little lower.

Well, I have to go outside and weed now...

An Eventful Day

Today at our house there were two events of note: there was no rain and we finally harvested our first ripe tomato.

Readers not from the Central Jersey area should understand that usually local gardeners vie for the first tomatoes of the season around July Fourth. Someone will proudly present The Ripe Tomato at an Independence Day picnic while tossing off the comment, "Well, I just picked this from the garden as we were leaving. I figured you might want to slice it on some of the burgers."

Of course, at this point the other gardeners are supposed to admire The Tomato (no matter how grudgingly) before it is sliced.

But this year, with all the cool wet weather, the tomatoes are really late - if they exist at all.

So I am proud to announce that today we picked one ripe Sweet One Hundred Cherry tomato (about one-inch across), cut it in half, and savored it.

As for the weather report, suffice it to say that in order to get to the tomato plants I have put down extra compost along the vegetable garden paths so I don't sink into or slip on the mud.