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Here in the Midwest, our seasons change from day to day. This week our normal highs should be around 85 degrees, with lows in the mid 60s. But not this year. This week has been unusually cool, with high temps only reaching the mid 70s and lows barely reaching 50 degrees.
We usually open the house up at dusk and bring in the cooler weather, closing the windows up again in mid-morning when the temps reach 80. We sure can’t do this now. I opened the windows and put a fan in the living room the other night, and was elbowed awake by my wife about midnight.
“I’m cold! Are there any extra blankets in here?” my wife asked. This is code for “Get up, shut the windows, and find me a blanket or I will make your life miserable.”
My yard loves this weather. The grass goes into overtime, growing faster than weeds, and my garden doesn’t know what to do. The lettuce and spinach, which were fading out with the heat, now have decided to sprout again. The cucumbers and broccoli love this weather too, blooming out everywhere. Inside the greenhouse, the temps usually reach over 100 degrees this time of year, so I rarely go in there.
I did, however, pop into the greenhouse to fill a flower pot this week, and I was very surprised. We plant late-season tomatoes inside the greenhouse in late August, extending our tomato growing season through November, but I usually don’t worry about all that for a few more weeks. Yesterday I noticed something growing in the back, so I took a look. The heirloom tomatoes left over from last year had re-seeded themselves, and in this cool weather, they were growing like they were on steroids. There were vines mingled through my spare pots, and my folding chair was in mid-air, suspended by the tomato vines as they grew up to the ceiling. I knew that these heirloom tomatoes would re-seed, but I never knew this could happen.
So, now this fluke weather we’re having has saved me some time. Instead of preparing the soil and planting new tomato plants for the fall, all I have to do is dig out a folding chair and a few loose pots, then tie the vines up. I was thinking to myself “This weather has saved me a lot of time.” But then I walked out to the yard (which I had just mowed three days ago), and realized any time I have saved was quickly being taken back by Mother Nature. Yes, it was time to mow again or by some sheep.
I guess the moral of this story is “Mother Nature giveth and she taketh away.”
Lesson learned.
