It was so cool yesterday morning that the Tall Teenager and I weeded for more than the usual hour or so. 
I had watered the day before and the pulling was good so soon not only was I missing breakfast, but I was fast missing lunch. I will catch up on the rest this afternoon I thought, gaily yanking out the dreadfully tall weeds, laying onions out to dry, sowing more zuchinni and cucumber. Well, if it is going to be a long hot summer you never know what we can achieve as long as we keep successive sowing. 
There are a lot of slaters in the soil. I believe they are my problem, eating the roots of the plants, so I am going to water a section with the dishwashing water each evening. They hate soap.
By 11am I was thinking of cleaning out the pig pen before cleaning up to eat, I was filthy anyway, when a truck came up the drive followed by a grader and a semi and some other smelly contraption and they had some left over bitumen from a job down the road and did we want the leftovers laid by the shed at cost.
Not wanting to contribute to the awful waste of stuff like this and before I had managed a confused ok, they had taken their shirts off and got to work. Oh dear. By now it was really hot and I still had all these weeds to feed out before they wilted and the pig pen to do and oh my, the yard was full of barely clothed tall men tanned to all shades, all smiles. They brightened and stopped work to ask me questions every time I was in earshot. Then I heard this shout Cows Out and turned in horror but it was just Daisy and Hairy walking to the fence to see if they had any food. They all had to stop and have a look. You milk her? Yes. They all looked at her, then looked at me, then looked back at her and shook their heads. Her big head nodding from one to the other.
Then it was done, they all disappeared back down the drive on the backs of trucks and standing behind machines and were gone like strange tall fairies. Tarmac is not sustainable I thought to myself. But they would have dumped it otherwise and it is all nice and tidy looking, and oh dear now I will have to trim the hedges.
Kupa likes it.
So do his girls. The Tall Teenager whizzed past on the skateboard. The momentum of the day whizzed along behind him. 
My day became a blur. Now I really was behind. I had been trying to get back to the computer to read and reply to all your messages while I had a munch, this is my favourite part of the blog day but the internet was so slow it could not even remember how to write its own name. And I did not have time to wait.
I made a sausage casserole in the crockpot with a summer sauce from the garden. Then it was 3pm with growing heat. I had to get ready for the milking and feeding out and the afternoon chores and still no breakfast or lunch, or even a sit down and my feet were literally hurting, my head loose on its moorings, so I made the blueberry, walnut, silverbeet and home made icecream smoothie in a jar with my new hand held blender. Then drunk it out of the jar so fast I gave myself hypothermia of the brain. Then sorted boxes of old fruit and veges delivered from the store into the feed buckets. It was getting hotter and hotter.
The humidity like a fog.
I milked and cleaned that up, John came home, staggering into the pool after a day in the heat. Then I cleaned the barn, fed and watered the animals, began the evening watering, had a shower, hung the yoghurt up to drain, strained and stored the milk. By then the boys had dinner mostly assembled, and so we ate and I cleaned that mess up, then looked at the evenings work and there was just no way. The laundry, the watering, sheep feet. Debris scattered about. John was already asleep in his clothes. The Tall Teenager had disappeared as they do at the sight of dirty dishes. I looked at the litter in the house and was overcome. Do you ever get to that stage where you just cannot do anymore? A wall comes down like a blind. STOP, it says on the inside of the blind.
By not it was 8pm. So I took the dogs for a walk. Then opened up the internet again and trawled very very slowly through a few blogs. My connection would not even load the comments sections in most of them which is mean because I love to tell you I love your work. But I was sitting. That was good.
Good morning. Sometimes Gretchen says it best. This is a very well timed post for all of us.
And Elladee made some very interesting observations about the journey to living a good clean green life on her site. The last quote of the page is priceless. My connection whizzes along in the early early morning.
The Post Mistress told me, when she dropped in yesterday, that it was going to be 103 today. Ah well. We are getting better at managing. I am sure you are too. It is summer after all.
My neighbour bought in a bucket load of cucumbers to pickle, swapping them for tomatoes, so today I will make more summer tomato sauce and then dill pickles. I will need more jars soon!! Not that IS exciting.
Have a lovely day.
celi
On this day a year ago. Mary’s Cat meets The Bad Thing. This is a very sweet, very short series of images. If the little ones in your house are up you can show them. It still makes me laugh. I have put this one aside for the children’s book. Though the dialogue needs work!
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
88 responses to “Not always in control but momentum gets us to the end”
Sugar, It is 11pm here and I thought I had had a busy and tiring day: compared to you I don’t seem to have accomplished anything ! Try harder tomorrow? Oh, and am trying to taste the blueberry, walnut, silverbeet and ice cream smoothie by sheer concentration: wow, curious – must make!!
Morning Eha, it is a perfectly balanced meal in a cup.. you will love it.. c
It looks like they did a good job of your road 😉
It is like an apron in front of the house, bit of a man thing really! morning Mad! c
How wonderful that they stopped by your house and paved your road! I’m not sure what the cost is where you are but here, it would cost thousands to have someone come pave a long drive. What a blessing!
Love the picture of Kupa on the new road. Hope your day is a little slower today. Enjoy ~ April
It was just the wee area between the shed and the house so not too bad and like I say it was the end of a load, so quite hilariously we bump up our pothole ridden road into our pot hole ridden lane and then park on a lovely flat apron of bitumen.. the irony is not lost on me!! c
Ooh, I recognise that description of both that internet and your day so well! It’s not as hot as where you are but today we are having a proper scorcher. Too hot for anything but melting. But at least it’s not humid. Yuck. Your fancy new drive really looks the business. 🙂
morning honey, well this weather can’t last forever, eventually the rains will come, probably the moment we cut the hay! c
The Murphy’s Law of hay making?! 🙂
Don’t say the Murphy word!! c
:$
All that work and no food is exactly why you are shaped like a string bean…glad to hear you are eating with the old codger this morning!
we do enjoy our brunches, the pair of us need feeding sometimes! morning Connie! c
i say the same as all others, don’t forget to eat my friend, and drink plenty of water, now that your heat is high. we care
The water is the key, i will not forget! tho I always appreciate the reminders. not having grown up in a climate such as this.. morning terry.. c
hope i don’t sound bossy, too much medical training in me….only care about you
There is something about getting caught up in the day,
and the “one thing leads to another”… unfolding turns
into a marathon. I get it. I do it and at some level
I love the sense of accomplishment. I think I am
slowly learning about hydration and the
importance there of…….your spirit shines !!
This is true nanster, I did achieve a lot yesterday.. having two whole gardens weed free at the same time is some kind of record! c
That you don’t hit the proverbial wall everyday is quite amazing to me, Celi. You are the embodiment of the Energizer Bunny! I think nature gives us a little sensor that perhaps periodically turns off our batteries…just to be safe! Sending you cooling breezes today, my friend, not so you’ll keep working, but just to restore any balance you may be crazing. 🙂 Debra
There is a breeze Debra, but not cool, pushing 100 degrees already! so it will be a dry hot day! Ah well.. c
Like everyone else, I worry about your health when I read these posts where you’re going and going and going like the Energizer Bunny that you are, but in the extreme heat and without refueling or stopping. Please be a careful EB, and remember that part of sustainability is sustaining yourself! Love the shot of Kupa and co. crossing the asphalt. I wonder why they like it so much? Reaching the 100 mark here today. Stay cool, Celi!
You see? I cannot complain, so many of us are struggling with this heat. We are just not used to it for prolonged periods up here.. c
Dill pickles! You always stay busy, C, but make sure to stay hydrated and get some protein in you in this heat and all the hard work. Take good care!
I love the pickles, i am so looking forward to them.. i was miserable when my cucumbers all died! c
Living simply is never really simple, is it? The hard work gets to you and catches up to us all. Some things get let go around my place on occasion. I know you aren’t supposed to go to bed with dishes in the sink.. but.. after a busy day outside or in the kitchen, sometimes the minimal cleanup is all that is done around my place. Self preservation is key.
OH Heidi i am so grateful to hear you say that. I hate to go to bed with dishes undone but sometimes i am so tired. It is the dishes that get to me! Honestly and I never use disposable ones so there is always a washup! c
Same here – we have some beautiful dishes and think we deserve to use them (that, and I just won’t buy disposable anything). We have a dishwasher, but there always seem to be big pots and pans and baking stuff littered around. Sometimes I just say enough. It’s still there the next morning when I have the energy to deal with it.
I use beautiful cloth napkins..misfits, that brighten all meals…!!!
I have to say Kupa is looking particularly handsome. Your comment about the teenager had me laughing. My brothers used to try and get out of the washing up until mum tied our pocket money to household chores. no washing meant no pocket money 😉
Fair enough too.. KI think tonight I will just tag them and leave the kitchen.. morning noodle.. c
Oh, my, Celi, you make me feel like a lazy bum! Reading about your day, I appreciate more my privilege of working about six hours yesterday on a WIP. I’m afraid our little bit of gardening is a loss this year, but you inspire me; maybe next year, we’ll attempt the raised beds again. I do so enjoy living the green life vicariously with you! Have a great day. And don’t forget to water yourself!
There is so much to do in the summer and i long to be able to write for hours at a stretch. But I do not have that kind of time. And when i really write i go so deep i barely even hear anything, the hours pass in another time. My animals would all starve to death if i gave myself over to the writing. So the blog is almost a sanity space for me as i have to write, edit and publish every day, it does not take long and it always feels so satisfying. Thank you gerry for making the time to write..I should do more of it.. c
Celi I have read all the comments from those who love you. I am NOT going to say a word! But I was thinking this. I know if we were close by the Good Husband and I would stop by for tea but really to pull weeds, clean up in the kitchen, make you a PROPER breakfast, and in general be interfering but oh so well meaning and helpful neighbors. We can’t help it. As the scorpion said to the fox “it’s in our nature”. Please have a splendid day. Virginia
Oh I would be SO grateful to see you Virginia .. and i believe that is exactly what you would do, you darling girl, but do tell the Good Husband to bring his chain saw as some of these weeds are literally turning into trees!! c
You know how it is with men. If something makes buzzing and zippy noises and is mechanical they are in love with it. Death to all weeds. Virginia
and anything else that gets in the way!! c
I always try to estimate how many calories you burn through in a day, Celi! If I had your life I could eat and eat and eat rather than have to count my calories. And I had to be the ignorant city girl here, but what is a slater?
Nasty little bug that creeps through the ground and eats roots. I bet they have another name in the US. i shall ask my mother in law.. they are grey and oval shaped with creases like ridges on their backs and about 6 legs i think. I could probably crowd two onto my dirty little fingernail! I am not sure if you would have them in your lovely cool shady green garden that i do so admire.. c