Heat wave

The temperature is currently in the middle 30's and expected to stay there for a few days. No rain is forecast for the rest of the month except for occasional thunderstorms. My outside tap and hose extension are a godsend as I try to keep the vegetable plants alive.

It is at times like these I appreciate the design of the traditional Galician stone houses. They have walls a metre thick, no windows on the south side at all, and the windows they do have are small with shutters.

 Even with the current heat wave they are cool and pleasant inside. I have just said goodbye to family visitors so I am trying to catch up on some of the gardening when the temperature allows.

This morning Catherine and I were up before 7am and working on the land until 10am planting out the latest plantlets and harvesting gooseberries. They are a little unripe but past experience has taught me that birds can strip fruit bushes in just a few hours. I have made four jars of gooseberry jam and look forward to my first new jam sandwich of the year. The taste of the residue on the pans promises that this will be a good one!.