dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
morning, the nineteenth of july
midsummer
the full weight of summer.
everything is ripe or ripening or done.
thunder in the westthe corn stands perfectly stillwaiting for the rain
sky
blazing. the garden wilts by ten. water it or lose it.
- waxing crescent, 31% lit
- sunrise 6:13 am · sunset 8:29 pm
- 14h 16m of daylight (-1.3 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 8:58 pm · sailor's dark 9:33 pm · true dark 10:12 pm
the moon is waxing. plant leafy things: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, herbs that grow above ground. the light is growing and pulls the energy upward.
when you look toward sagittarius, you are looking toward the center of the galaxy. twenty-six thousand light-years of stars, dust, and darkness. the teapot shape is pouring out the densest part of the milky way. the old astronomers did not know what they were seeing. we barely do.
heat lightning. no thunder, just the sky flickering at the horizon. the storm is too far away to hear but the light carries. the old people watched it from the porch and called it "the shimmer."
garden
in the ground now
- let some herbs bolt and flower for the bees
- second planting of beans if you have the space
- harvest in the morning before the heat sets in
- save seeds from what did well, close the circle
this week
- pull spent crops and plant fall seeds in their place. bush beans, beets, carrots.
- order garlic for fall planting now. the good varieties sell out early.
good neighbors
- nasturtium tumbling between the squash hills, the bugs go to it and not the fruit
- marigolds sown thick where the brassicas will follow, they leave the ground cleaner than they found it
- borage left to flower fully, it is the bees' last reliable cup before the heat breaks
bad neighbors
- do not return tomatoes to last year's tomato ground, the soil is asking for three years of rest
- never put fall brassicas where the spring brassicas stood, the cabbage worms remember the place
- fennel anywhere near the new bean rows, the seedlings will sulk all the way to fall
kitchen
in season
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
- eat outside if there is a breeze
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
tonight
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
putting up
- green beans the same way. low-acid foods need a pressure canner. otherwise pickle them as dilly beans.
- the first figs come in. jam them, dry them, or bake them into the lid of a tart.
foraging
- chanterelle mushrooms after summer rains, golden in the hardwood leaf litter.
- wild plums, small and tart, good for jam and nothing else.
- jewelweed, the orange-flowered plant near creeks. crush the stem for poison ivy relief.
- passionflower vine, blooming wild. the flower makes a calming tea.
midsummer foraging is abundance and sweat. bring a bucket and water. the blackberries alone will keep you busy for weeks.
folklore
the buck moon, the thunder moon. the dog days begin when sirius rises with the sun. the old farmers blamed the star for the heat. it is not the star. but the name stuck.
passionflower tea from wild vines. deeply calming. good for the restless nights the heat brings. midsummer medicine is first aid. the garden and the woods are handing out scratches, bites, heat, and rashes. have your remedies ready.
cicadas, loud enough to drown out thought. they are harmless.