Yesterday morning (August 10th) on my way to my desert research area I was amazed to see numerous crop fields, roads, and unfortunately homesites flooded along US 95 btwn San Luis and Yuma. This afternoon (August 11) storm clouds are building southwest of the Shilo Inn in Yuma. I suspect more rain tonight. Noticed a few herbaceous plants sprouting the last few days in the desert. Hopefully by the time I depart to Baton Rouge end of next week I can see something in the desert other than dingy cresotebush and dead Plantago ovata, Allonia incarnata, Oenotheras, and invasive grasses. I've always chuckled when Arizona locals complain about "high humidity". The last few days it has felt like the Louisiana sauna I am all too familiar with. The humidity combined with 108 degrees F in the blazing sun is pretty uncomfortable. At least no mosquitos, fire ants, and redbugs!!

glenda, not only did I take a bite for you, but maybe two bites for you. We have guest in for the weekend. This morning I got up and fixed hot cornbread, sawmill gravy, and also had butter and molasses on the table. The only thing that I didn't have was the cracklins. I used the last bit of them a few weeks ago. These folks had never eaten anything like this before. They all have the recipes and ready to go back home and make their own. We are going to the grocery store in just a bit, and one of the couples is going to pick up some cracklins. There are only a few places here that I buy them. Hubby doesn't like the cracklins, so when i make it with the cracklins, just put it on one side. My little southern granddaughter who is 2, hasn't developed a taste for the cracklins. She told me there were bugs in my side of the cornbread. Glenda, you are a wonderful cook, thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes. Just thought of one thing I wanted to ask you. Did you ever make hard tack biscuits. Think that is what they were called. Back in the 50's, a friends mother would make these and I loved those hard biscuits.

Busybee, that's the part I'd have a hard time with...the "in between" stages! As far as nail holes being problematic... wowza, I don't get that! I understand that it's a buyer's market & people are more picky & demanding than ever, but if nail holes are a deal breaker, that's it...I'll never sell my house! I'm sure this couple hangs their art with care & precision, which is more than many people do. Must say, when house-hunting for both of my houses, I never once looked at one that didn't have an abundance of stuff on the walls. I thought most people expected to deal with such. I certainly did. Frankly, if a potential buyer so much as mentioned nail holes to me I'd have to tell them to go suck a lemon. Bumblebeez, class differences? Clearly, this is not a service for the middle class! The houses they are working in are obviously not your average American digs. Guess those of us with more modest lifestyles who think in terms of "budget" and "value" are too sensible to make sense of many of the details behind such an endeavor! You know how it is, "The rich are different from you & I." I do think that using a local florist, regardless of pricing, would be a really lovely idea. Supporting the small businesses in the town in which you live is a terrific thing to do for many reasons.

There is Winter Garden Therapy. 1. Catalogues 2. Grow Lights 3. Wintersowing. You'll want to read up on this since you're headed into homesteading. You save plastic containers (milk jugs, for example), cut them in half, fill with at least 3" of soil and plant your seeds. You tape it shut, leave the cap off and put some drain holes in the bottom and set it outside. Yep, outside. No, it's not cow-tipping. It's a real thing. Those containers become little greenhouses and your plants start to germinate and grow before they would if you planted in the ground. Right now start thinking about what seeds you want to sow. Do you want to start fruit vines, for example, that won't give you food for a several years? You can start those seeds this winter if you don't have the $ to invest in larger plants/rootstock. Of course, if you're thinking of apples, vines, berries plus the traditional veggies...you'll probably have to have a basic map of where to plant everything. (How are your marriage negotiating skills?) There's a group in Michigan that's learning about Rain Gardens--utilizing the water runoff from the house to water the garden. That's a good resource for you to consider. The group is here on Houzz. Can I ask--what's your harvest plan? Do you plan to can veggies? Dry? Freeze? Is your hubby going to hunt bear and deer, too? Full meals of deer roast, potatoes and wild leeks? Here's my advice: plant some bulbs this fall (tulips, daffodils--I don't care about onions). They will make you smile and dance around the house during the early spring when you're dying to be outside, but you can't plant anything yet. Oh, and taste the anticipation. Every season has an anticipation of the next. Don't ever lose that--you're like a kid before Christmas! Heidi