My goodness! Is the year half-way gone already?

Holy moly and there I was, in February or March wondering when June will be here. Actually, I was wondering when spring or summer would arrive because it was both freezing and ridiculously snowy back then but here we are, the month of June and approaching the hottest time of the year.

In a word, 2023 has been a weird year so far with a colder and snowier winter than usual and spring being delayed by a month. I mean, I would never plant peas in May under normal circumstances but this year…like I said, weird.

First of all, I must say, May, what a month.

It started off extremely busy. I was trying to do as much as I could to prepare for my upcoming travels – finish setting up the drip irrigation in my backyard, plant as much as I could so I would come back to a harvest, and do as much as I could at work so I don’t come back to a pile of work waiting for me.

Ah, the trip to the UK – the main event of the month.

After 11 days, nearly 70 miles of walking, and witnessing an exodus-like phenomenon, I was more than ready to go home. I feel like this trip was different from the one I took in 2022 in that I kept my expectations low – no going out of my way to visit must-visit places and went on the trip with the attitude – there’s always the next time.

It’s been a week since I’ve arrived home after 2 plane delays and almost 24 hours of travel, my body is slowly adjusting back to my own time zone – mountain daylight time. It’s crazy to think that it was so easy for me to adjust to a 15-hour time difference when I visited China 5 years ago but it’s the 7-hour difference that got me. I didn’t start feeling like myself again until yesterday – May 31 – with enough energy to get through a 9-hour workday.

Garden-wise, holy cow! My garden exploded in the 2 weeks I was away. I came back to an explosion of green and colors. Mom hasn’t need to shop for vegetables as I’ve been harvesting out of the garden daily. It’s mind-boggling to see how much plants can give if they are treated right. I thank God every day for the abundant harvest as he’s the one who gave these plants life while I provide nourishment along the way.

I’m not sure how much mom appreciate this but I’m sure somewhere in a deep dark corner of her subconscious, she appreciates the garden as much as I do.

What I’m look forward to June…

More harvest! There’s no doubt I’ll have more harvest in June. I think compared to previous years, I’ve done less work in the garden this year.

Some of the potatoes will probably be ready middle of June or late June. Beans and probably peas will be ready as well, not to mention strawberries and raspberries. I’m hoping for a bumper crop of strawberries. I’ve already started picking one or two each day and savoring the sweetness that can only come from sun-ripened warm strawberries.

I’m looking forward to tomato harvests as well. A few of the determinate varieties already have tomatoes forming. I’m also looking forward to seeing my melons – cantaloupes and watermelons – climb the new trellis while basking in the ever-so-intense high elevation sun.

For work, I’m looking forward to the company party at the end of June. I had fun last year and have a feeling I’ll have fun again this year.