Friday, July 6, 2007

Rain, Ruin, and Rice Paddies


Texas is going under - one rain gauge at a time. Have you heard of the flooding here? The National Weather Service says my county has gotten measurable rainfall every day since May 23rd. No surprise there. Every morning you wake up, it's raining. Every night you go to sleep, it's raining. Every time you fix your hair and dash out to the car, it's raining. I have been Miss Princess Fuzzy Head with wet pant hems for a month and a half. No hair or pants... however well cared for... can stand up to this soggy mess.

No garden can either. Which is why, after watching my pumpkins, squash, zucchini, potatoes, beans, spinach, blueberries, and heirloom tomatoes rot and dissolve into puddly-heaps, I gave up and went to the Farmer's Market. I was assured this is locally grown produce. Forgive my skepticism, but it seems to me that the only thing Texas could produce this year is rice. If I had any brains I would be outside now - in the downpour - seeding rice paddies and googling recipes for homemade soy sauce.

Sniff.

Yep, I'm fairly brokenhearted about my overly-planned and heavily-planted garden. Such promise. Such hopes I had! But hey, the farmer's market is fun. And those peaches! Wouldn't they sit well in a homemade Peach Cobbler? Especially with Caramel Honey ice cream on top....

Oooooh... and look at the corn! I didn't plant corn. Wouldn't this be great grilled and topped with dill butter? Or chipotle butter? Or wouldn't it make the best Bacon Cheddar Corn Chowder ever? (I'm thinking that's a yes, yes, and... yes.)

So okay. The floods got us this year. The rain drove us to buying veggies on the side of the road. But you can't keep a good (or bad, for that matter) Texan down. Yee-haw. Next year our gardens will be back - bigger, better, and cornier than ever.

Meanwhile, I'm off to make peach salsa and corn chowder to put up for winter. If you need me this weekend, I'll be the girl behind the foggy kitchen windows just above the murky, deep (rice-strewn?) puddles. Happy weekend! -Brin

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry about the rain drowning your garden, Brin but you are one optimistic gal and I applaud you (clap clap)..and the produce you got at the market will be just fine...mmmm..I'd like to be in your kitchen taste testing!
Weather seems to be changing everywhere...we had a lot of bad weather a few weeks ago..rain,tornadoes and such. We have now had sunshine and good weather for a week..hmmm, will it last??
Picked raspberries today..think I'll have fresh raspberries with a bowl of yogurt..I hear my tummy rumbling..

Kathleen Grace said...

I love the farmers market, one of my favorite things about summer. All the colors and smells and flowers! Love your new format too, very bright and fresh.

Anonymous said...

loving the new blog look!

Brambleberry said...

I'm so sorry to hear of your muddled, puddled garden. Hard for all that toil to go up in smoke...or down in water, as the case may be.

Glad to hear your spirits are high. Corn lifts my mood, too. Mmmmmmm.

Debra from Bungalow said...

I've seen on the news about all the rain in Texas. We haven't had much rain up north.The last 2 days we did get a decent amount of rainfall though. So sorry about your garden, but the farmer's market is lots of fun. Those peaches are mouth watering.

Have fun cooking!

Anonymous said...

I got two words for you on all those lovely veggie photos and cooking ideas Miss Brin....."Yum-mmy!" ha-ha :)

Beach Girl said...

No rain here, I'm sure you'd be happy to share if it was up to you.

I like the new blog look.

Vanessa

BellaColle said...

Hi,
sorry to hear about the mess! We had one year in Wisconsin like that...all I could say is 'ugh'. All your veggie finds at the farmer's market sound delicious. Stay safe.
Love the changes to your blog by the way. Very nice.

meg said...

Oh, that is just so heart-breaking, to watch your plans & plants dissolve away in the rain. I suppose this will be the year to support the hard pressed small farmer.
We have the opposite problem- no rain for 3 months & high temp are making my garden look shrivelled & parched.

Brigitta said...

Hi Brin, haven't been around for a while and love the new fresh look of your blog!! What a shame about your garden, I know how you feel. Over here in the Netherlands it's been raining almost non-stop for two weeks now. We do get dry patches every now and again, but boy, it's gray, gray, gray. When will summer begin????

Mary said...

Ok Brin, let's barter, I'll send you 100 degrees + humidity (and throw in some genuine French beans - gorgeous haricots verts from my garden), if you'll send me some rain. Please, pretty please, I need rain, a lot, we're on water restrictions and I can only use sprinklers Sun, Wed. and Fri. Am lugging heavy watering cans around - my sister-in-law got a severe shoulder injury doing the in France last year, so I only fill them half way - that's a lot of trips around the garden!!

Seriously though, so sad about your garden - hopefully the weather will improve soon. Like the sound of peach salsa and corn chowder - wish I could join you in the kitchen this afternoon!

Here's to a dry spell heading your way - best wishes, Mary.

Seawashed said...

I love the new fresh look of your blog...white is always cheery and summery! It's no fun to see your garden die, but the rain is good!!! What is happening in the natural reflects what is happening in the spiritual...and rain is good!!! "And He will cause the rain to come down for you~ The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month."(Joel 2:23NKJV) "Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do."(Joel 2:23 the message) Rain refreshes and revives us. Let us rejoice in His revival rains, His mercy rains over Texas. For He is good, He is good!

Lallee said...

You're flooding. We're shriveling. Neither is good. Wish I could mix the two up together! So sorry about your garden. It's hard to watch hard labor float away. I'm trying to keep my new landscaping watered.

Hugs!

Unknown said...

Mother Nature can be tricky at times, gardening is always a chance well taken. Everytime I hear of the Texas flooding, I think of you and hope your safe at Freeman House. Lovely photos of local produce, must be from the drier part of Texas? LOL