Friday, February 14, 2014

Back to Paradise (garden update)

Finally, the weather is back to what I have called normal for the last 10 years.  What a (insert your favorite profane term here) relief.

I can make excuses as good or better than anyone ...but my main and only excuse for not blogging over the past few months is the weather.

I know that you folks up north still shaking-off (or still shaking FROM) the polar vortex and Mega-Storm Pax, etc. don't wanna hear about record heat waves ...but that's what we've been having down here while youse guys have been making all the news.

Argentina broke a 40 year record for heat this summer.  Brazil is getting pounded with both drought and heat ...when the Amazon is dry, you know it's dry.

I always say that I come from a place (Chicago) that has the worst weather of anywhere in the world that has all 4 seasons ...and that I now live in a place that has the best weather of anywhere that has all four seasons.

But this year has been different, shall we say.

Most of my friends and relatives think (or thought) that living here meant living in a jungle ...monkeys, toucans, the works.  When they heard that the temperature here never gets to 100ºF and rarely hits freezing, almost everyone started to adjust their mental picture of my chosen land.  I really got to brag a lot about how sweet the weather was.

WAS.  I hope it's not permanent but this year was scary to both me and my wife who has lived here most of her life.

It always gets to almost 100ºF (38ºC) in the big city but in out in the country it almost never does.  Heat waves have always been easier to handle in the campo for lots of reasons: it cools down at night better than Capital and there is very little to obtruct breezes coming across the pampas.

This year, however, it was just as hot in the countryside as in Buenos Aires.  Brutal.

Our big old ranch house, with its big ol' thick walls, did all it could to keep the overnight cool throughout the day.

The poor ol' ranch house could not keep-up this year.

We closed all the doors and windows and shutters at the first sign of warmth in the morning ...and just hibernated for weeks.

Refreshing cold showers that we actually look forward to each summer ...could not cut the mustard.  We sat in the dark (or as dark as possible!) and read by kindle or napped or just plain stewed in our own juices.

Siesta expanded from 2 or 3 hours every mid-day to 5 or 6 hours.  In order to work, you had to get up before dawn, wait for enough daylight to see what you were doing, and start to quit about 10:30 ...or risk your health and/or the health of your horse.  Thank the good lord that we did not lose any cattle from the heat ...we heard some bad stories about neighboring ranches.

It was like being sick in bed for weeks ...except that we weren't sick!

That came later.

After all that "enforced bed rest" and brutal temps, my dear missus and I felt cooked.  We're just now starting for feel better.  At least for me, that kinda prolonged heat makes me feel like my guts are cooked.  Plus, some of the most active weeks/months of the year became the most inactive!  My winter waistline did not contract this summer!

We don't know how the people in the big city of Buenos Aires survived this year ...especially with all the inevitable power outages for many neighborhoods.

I think we've only started to feel better within the past few days.

We got a break about the 1st of February ...but it came with a pounding!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryhR3kcGEMY&feature=youtu.be)

The big heat wave, however, was GREAT for our garden's melons!

These melons are of two great open-pollenated varieties: Petit Gris de Rennes and Charantais.

Smallish French melons that are famous for their melony perfume and intense flavor.

My Missus and I had a hard time deciding which melons were the more delicious.  As expected, we disagreed ...at least a little.

I found the Petit Gris to be a little more refreshing and juicy ...but, still, the second-best melon I've ever tasted.

The BEST melon I've ever tasted has to be the Charantais.  It wasn't an easy decision.

In the end, my criterion was, "which melon would you garnish a glass of champagne with?"

Charantais ...at least from this year's crop.

The flavor was as intense as a garden-ripe strawberry.

It was a tough call, though.

They even survived the hail without too much damage!

Lots of big beautiful green leafy plants got machine-gunned by the hail, tho.

It's still a little bit too early for reviews on the pelted tomato plants...

...but the very first examples of our "Paul Robesons" are exciting!

Along with the classic Brandywine and Tennessee Green, I wanted to plant the Black Krim tomatoes again this year ...but, sadly, the seeds weren't available ...so I went with the Paul Robeson as a second choice.

 It turns out that, among the cognoscenti, the Paul Robeson is considered maybe the most delicious in the world!  Who knew?

The melons are all gone ...we ate them all and adored them!  Of course, we saved seeds for all of you in Argentina, where heirloom garden seeds are difficult to find.

The watermelons are still ripening, however ...and we have a few Moon & Stars which are incredible.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you very much for backing up and confirming my reason for cancelling most of my Horse Adventures this past summer; many visitors who based their travels on past weather and history were convinced I was exaggerating ! The fruit and veges look amazing, so on your next BA visit, fill up a few bags; I'm sure somme of us would be happy to take them off you; I also look forward to your grass fed beef being available in BA; mmy thriving Biltong in BA business is crying out for it! Best regards, David

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  2. Tell them ALL it was true, David. Not only did all the humans hide from the heat ...but we would work the horses at risk of their lives.

    Maybe a couple, two, three hours right at dawn ...and nothing more.

    Send disbelievers to yanquimike@gmail.com

    Love,
    Mike y Lili

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