A Year With No Summer?

          The other day I was watching tv and the weather forecaster said they are considering calling this the year with no summer. Oh, I know we still have August coming but here in these hills, August usually brings with it, a little feel of fall. I remember last summer, writing on this blog and asking the question, "What does a winter look like after such a cool summer?" Hmmm, well I found out. 24 degrees below zero, days of it never getting above zero and tons of snow. Yes, it was a winter to remember. But with all that cold came lots of sled riding, snowman making and we had our fill of snow ice cream! Also, I had lots of time to spin and knit in front of a cozy fire. I loved every minute of it. All that being said, this summer has been even crazier than last. I chuckled at Tim last night because when we headed out to do chores, he slipped on a sweatshirt. I asked him if he had ever had to put a sweatshirt on in July before? In usual "Tim" fashion, he just shrugged his shoulders and headed toward the barn. But I do wonder if we are setting up for another winter like last one. We had never heard of  "Polar Vortexes" until last winter and now we are having them in the summer? This morning it was 49 degrees when I milked and yes, I had a sweatshirt on. I'm not complaining, just wondering.
            We had some really bad thunderstorms this week. One hit Sunday evening while we were doing chores. As I stood at the stanchion milking, I was looking out one of the barn windows that faces the garden. Sheets of heavy rain was falling and the wind was whipping. I stood there and watched as most of our corn came down. I had planted four rows of a bantem variety and it stood right there and hardly moved but the big, beautiful Peaches and Cream, came crashing down. All eight rows of it. It was a sad sight to see. Today I will start cutting it off and feeding a few stalks at a time. It's like candy to the goats and sheep. They won't be nearly as sad as I am. The rest of the garden is thriving though with all the rain we have had. We are covered up with zucchini and crooknecks. Tim begged last week for a meal with no squash. I have picked a bushel or better of cucumbers. The beans are ready to can and we have had a few ripe tomatoes. I still haven't had my first "mater sandwich" though. We have eaten half a row of new potatoes. The peas are all gone now. We have more spaghetti squash than we will ever be able to eat. It's a good winter keeper though and will last all year.
           All the animals are fine and the does are still giving us two gallons a day. They will start to taper off next month though. The lambs are growing like weeds and it won't be long and we will be doing a fall shear. I love working with the lambs soft, sweet wool.
           Well, I better quit typing and go pick beans. At least I don't have to worry about it getting too hot to pick today. I'm not sure I've ever said that before. Hope everyone has a beautiful last few days of July.