For you knitting muggles, an FO means a finished object, and I have one.
Yarn: Red Heart Bitty Stripes
Colorway: Rainbow
Pattern: Basic Beanie
Needles: US 8 / 5mm
Yes, I finished last night while I was watching the rest of that documentary on Pompeii -- the one hosted by Tom Hiddleston. It was really good, and I can attest from personal experience that alarm fatigue is real. Last year when we kept getting all of those tornado warnings...Yeah, by the time the season was over, I was like, "If it gets me, it just gets me. I'm staying in bed."
Anyway, if you're into ancient history like me, I highly recommend it.
While I was doing that, I cast on another hat with my new yarn.
Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn
Colorway: Rainbow Galaxy
Pattern: Basic Beanie
Needles: US 8 / 5 mm
This morning, before it got too hot, I finally recorded your long awaited garden vlog. But because the book of faces for some reason doesn't like it when I embed them, you can watch it on my YouTube Channel here: August Garden Journal.
Yes, I know I have an accent. I don't think I do until I hear myself in a recording and I realize I sound like I just stepped out of a cotton field.
For those of you who don't want to sit through the whole video, I've summarized it below.
Basically I was talking about the storm that came through here last night and did an absolute number on my plants. I didn't even know it had gotten that bad until I saw the state of things this morning. My little shade cloth rig was completely torn down, and I had to rebuilt it first thing.
Luckily, none of the plants under it seemed harmed, other than being a little droopy, but I expect they'll perk up in a few days.
And look at this! This is the little tomato that was being eaten, and was down to two leaves before I moved the spare basil into the bed next to it. Can you see, right in the middle? It's putting out new growth!
Yes, I realize how pathetic it sounds to get so excited over that, but what can I say? I am who I am.
One of my basil plants had also been knocked over, so I just cut the whole thing off.
It was already putting out new growth from the base, so it'll be OK. I'm not so sure about the tomato next to it, though. Those first tomato cages I bought were pretty flimsy, and not quite tall enough, which is why the second ones I bought I sprang for the high dollar cages. They can be built up much taller, so next year, I'll know. I'll probably use the shorter ones for my peppers -- whichever type of peppers I grow.
I'm thinking maybe jalapenos or tabascos. Maybe I'll grow more banana peppers -- just not six plants.
Speaking of, I pulled that dead one up and put it into my hot compost. Earlier this week, I put my candy thermometer into my tumbler and it got up to around 145, so that ought to be hot enough to kill any diseases over time. And seeds. And roots in viny weeds.
While we're on the subject of tomatoes, here is today's harvest.
I got a good many tomatoes, but only a few peppers. I didn't even harvest any cayenne peppers. Maybe I'll get some in the morning. I plan on hanging them to dry and grinding them up in my spice grinder.
The last thing I did before coming into the air conditioning for the day was to measure out and mark where this last bed is going to go.
My supervisor approves.
I'll still need to shave some of that red clay down so that it sits level, but that can wait until it cools off some. At least it's lined up and in place, plus the corners are staked so I can move it if I need to.
That's about all I did today. I didn't mow, and I didn't get that last batch of pepper jelly made. I will eventually. Maybe tomorrow.
Maybe not.
