We are still waiting for a little bit of rain…

As much as these clouds look like they’d be the ones to break the drought … they sailed by without so much as a drop of water.

The problem with a drought is it sucks not only all the moisture from the air, but it somehow sucks all your energy too.  It’s hot outside, it’s only around 25°C but it feels like a million, and after weeks and weeks of dry hot weather it kinda beats you down…  I just need to have a wee lie down and dream of rain.  The entire North Island has been declared a drought zone – that’s half the country!  And the other half isn’t fairing too well either.  Everyone is pinning their hopes on a lovely tropical cyclone this weekend called Sandra.  I hope she’s good to us.

Despite being in the middle of a drought, in my abandoned greenhouse, growing through the cracks in the paving stones, into a sand base, with no irrigation – this petunia is thriving. Why do things I try to grow in the greenhouse under normal conditions require so much attention?

But rain or no rain, the garden marches on and calls to me to do things to it.  I have to say it – we are blessed to have swamp soil.  The very soil I will be cursing in a few months for allowing itself to flood, but today it is good.  It is holding on to every last drop of water and while my garden may look a little thirsty, it’s definitely not crispy.  Yesterday I picked a load of tomatoes, but I think it will be the last serious harvest of the season as the plants are beginning to give up.  It is such a good feeling to have got the tomatoes through the summer to have them die of old age and not some nasty disease!

My baby bear pumpkins are so cute – I could just eat them up!

There seems to always be things to harvest in the garden, it’s just finding the time to eat it all.  I have made some tomato relish and put a load more in the freezer, and  I’ve made some searingly hot chilli sauce from the chillies I picked the other day and it is really nice, if not a little hot.  I was on a roll, I saw some grapes and a quince in the fridge that were in danger of entering the “gone too far” zone, so I cooked them up and made a jelly.  I have to say that grape and quince are a winning combination.  As I stood back to admire my jars all lined up – the fruit bowl caught my eye.  There were mandarins, lemons, apples, a pear and a peach that were also perilously close to the “gone too far” zone, so I shoved them through my juicer and made 2 and a half jars of what l like to call “juice of the fruit bowl” jam.  So yummy with a lovely citrus tang.

I’ve caught summer in a jar!

In the midst of all my domestic bliss-ness I had to arrange a pedicure.  It sounds lovely and all relaxing and just what a hard working gardener needs.  But alas, it wasn’t for me.  Sweetie the goat has gone all girly and has had her feet done.  Apparently she needs it again in six weeks.  Seriously – I’m the only proper girl around here – it should have been me!

Just look at my feet – aren’t they pretty!

Come again soon – I think I need to begin the sad task of beginning remove the traces of summer from my garden.

Sarah the Gardener  : o )

For those of you looking for the luck of the Irish on St Patrick’s Day, this Sunday…. I know where the pot of gold is – it’s in my garden!