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Near Summer Fun

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We don’t lack for amiable weather in L.A., but this is still my favorite time of year. The daylight is particularly beautiful and seems to goes on forever. It inspires me to get out and experience some nature, which for this urbanite might mean a city park. Or at least buying cut flowers for my dining room table. Any outdoorsy weekend plans?

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Discussion

16 comments for “Near Summer Fun”

  1. Shelley says:

    Hi there. I wanted to tell you that I love your blog/site and am grateful to have found it. I am in my late 40’s, never married, no children. I’m prone to despair but I’ve been having an especially hard time with it, although I so want to be fine with it instead. I do believe that 50-100 years from now, single women–single people–will be the norm. Thank you for your great words and art.

    • Paulette says:

      Hi, Shelley! I’m in my late 40s too, divorced and living on my own for the first time ever. It has been a rocky first couple of years but finding Wendy’s blog has been a blessing. It is so comforting to know I am not alone in this new way of living. Can’t say I’m 100% used to it but I am getting there!

  2. Lew says:

    Tennis in Central Park Sat AM and then danced tango in Central Park Sat night. About to go back to CP for tennis again if the rain holds off. Living two blocks from Central Park does not suck.

  3. Lauren says:

    I spent quite a bit of time weeding the garden. This is my third year of having one, and I love it. Every year I plant more flowers…

    • wendy says:

      Are you planting vegetables too?

      • Lauren says:

        Yes, although I’m going to be gone for a while, so I’m trying to find stuff that can survive benign neglect. That means lots of peppers, lots of tomatoes, and some squash, and we’ll just see if any of it survives. I LOVE tomatoes, so I tend to overdo it a bit. It’s funny: my parents didn’t garden at all, but my grandparents had amazing, amazing gardens. I feel very connected to them when I plant things and watch them grow…

        • wendy says:

          From my experience, it’s hard to grow a really great tomato. What’s your secret?

          • Lauren says:

            Oh dear. I don’t really have a secret; I’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve got a very sunny spot with decent soil, so I plant them fairly far apart, stake them, and am careful not to water them too much. I have figured out that a mix of hybrid and heirloom are best for me: the heirlooms, while delicious, are trickier to grow, and I like minimum effort for maximum tomatoes. 🙂 This year I’ve got Rutgers, Sungold, Green Zebra: seven plants for one person. This may be a bit of overkill…

          • wendy says:

            I’ve eaten a lot of mealy homegrown tomatoes, so you must be doing something right.

  4. Petra says:

    Like Lauren, some gardening. I have pots of herbs and two small raised beds, in which I’ve planted different pepper varieties, chives (from last year), eggplant (my first stab at this!), and a mammoth English lavender plant that has taken over a quarter of one bed–it attracts a variety of bees, including honeybees (and they need all the help they can get). There’s a fence behind my back yard and this year I decided to plant behind the fence. The property is still mine (for about an 8-foot stretch) and then there’s a farm field. Well, the plants behind the fence (some in containers, some in the ground) all have names and I spent some time talking to them–Sweetie Pie and Sweetie Darling, the red cherry tomatoes, JP the jalapeno plant, Blackie the Blackberry, Ruby Tuesday and Ruby Wednesday, the rhubarb plants, plus a few more tomato plants. They are doing so well (lots of sun back there) and I did some weeding and mowing behind the fence. I also spent time sitting on the deck with coffee–love being able to do that this time of year.

    • wendy says:

      Sounds blissful. I’ve been checking the market for red cherry tomatoes, my absolute favorite. Still a little early for the good ones. When do you harvest?

      • Lauren says:

        Wendy, have you ever tried Sungolds? They’re small, bright-orange cherry tomatoes, and if you can find them, they’re fabulous.

        • wendy says:

          I will look for Sungolds. The tomatoes I love the most are the sweet 100’s. They’re really small and incredibly sweet. I look forward to them all year.

      • Petra says:

        Oh, we got a late start here–frosts in May–so it’ll be quite some time. I’ll have to content myself with the herbs (but they are doing well and I’ll probably be able to make some pesto in a couple of weeks)

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