Highlight: A drought, a veritable drought has beset Serendipity Farmhouse and the region hereabout. Areas of standing water have begun to recede. I could actually walk to the shed wearing just a pair of rubber boots instead of having to ford the yard in a kayak.

Equally astonishing, on Thursday the 23rd, I saw two strange and awesome sights in the sky. First, there appeared a great, bright orb, dazzling in its intensity. Oh my, what could it be? Then, soon after that orb disappeared in the west, another bright, white spherical object shown through the trees to the east. Certainly, these events are worthy of recording.

Perhaps the receding waters and the two orbs are omens of good things to come. Or perhaps they foretell of imminent doom. How should one interpret these events?

Unlike me, beautiful wife has no problem understanding what it all means. She immediately informed me, it’s time to prepare for the great, spectacular, and totally magnificent SFH Birthday Bash scheduled for this Sunday. Her intuition and ability to see the future clearly stimulated a series of gentle requests (read that as edicts) for me to trim the shrubs, mow the lawn, spray for mosquitoes, reinstall outside lighting, clean the pantry, clear the porch of unneeded and unsightly debris, and a myriad of other tasks.

“Oh yes, dear, let’s also pickle some okra before it spoils.”

And so it was, and so it was meant to be – the sun rose and set soon followed by the moon. And before the day was done the majority of those gentle request were fulfilled. And, as this day begins, I am content in the knowledge that that which has not yet been done will be done before Sunday morning and the great SFH Birthday Bash.

Weather: The rain has decreased in quantity and the temperatures and humidity have diminished. There is another heat wave coming, but for now we can enjoy some Summer days.

2018-08-20: High – 78º, precipitation 0.03 (Detailed Summary – click here.)

2018-08-21: High – 84º, precipitation 0.19 (Detailed Summary – click here.)

2018-08-22: High – 80º, precipitation 0.03 (Detailed Summary – click here.)

2018-08-23: High – 77º, precipitation 0.0 (Detailed Summary – click here.)

Plantings: Nothing to report

Harvest: 

2018-08-20: 2 okra pods, 7 cherry tomatoes, 1 Jalapeno, 1 serrano pepper, 5 habaneros

2018-08-21: 13 cherry tomatoes

2018-08-22: 6 okra pods, 10 cherry tomatoes, 2 Jalapenos, 6 serrano peppers

2018-08-23: 3 okra pods, 12 cherry tomatoes