Seventh inning stretch...

So, it has come to this... the lull in gardening.  And I am not at all sad to see it come.  Right up until this time it has been hectic... HECTIC I  tell you with all the FIG! crop coming in along with the okra.  Now we have had rain almost every day which has prevented me from even checking on any remaining figs.  And I couldn't be happier.

Here is what I didn't do this morning.

1. I did not get up at 6:30 am in order to beat the birds into the fig tree.

2. I did not struggle with the ladder in muddy and uneven ground and climb a nerve racking distance upward while my Border Collie frolicked oblivious to peril beneath me.

3. I did not get startled into nearly launching myself off the ladder by that annoying lone grasshopper that has been hanging out in different areas of the fig tree and leaping towards me when I get too close (I hate that grasshopper).

4. I did not pick 2 - 10 pounds of figs and then try and find a clever way to store them so they would not get crushed.

5. I did not suffer plant assault from picking the okra pods with my bare hands.

6. I did not get bitten by mosquitoes in spite of wearing long sleeves and long pants.

7. I did not get miserably sweaty and aggravated before having breakfast.

Of course all of this means I did not get any produce from my garden so I don't have anything to enjoy - but I am OKAY with this.  These next few weeks might be deficient in homegrown produce but they will be full of free time and comfort.  Oh yeah.  I am going to live it up not gardening.

Now, unfortunately, reality will kick in far to quickly.  Even though the fall gardening routine does not begin until at least mid-August, there will be a need to tend the garden periodically.  I will need to debride the garden beds from the finished crops.  I will need to amend the soil for the upcoming season. I will need to water those plants that will continue to survive and produce in the summer. I will need to weed the beds and pick whatever can grow in the harsh summer weeks between now and September.

But that is okay.  I will take whatever small amount of relief afforded to me.  The garden never sleeps but sometimes it does doze lightly.  Shhhh... must be quiet lest it hears me.