Rain

and wind and cold. What kind of weather is this for late May? Farmers around the valley are worried because the crops just aren't developing as they should, plus, the rain damages melon crops by introducing mold as the melons sit on wet soil.

I'm somewhat grateful for the rain, even though my tomatoes may never ripen and I will be eating fried green tomatoes at the end of summer. The reason for my gratitude is the fact that tomorrow is the day I irrigate the orchard and ordinarily I have to mow the orchard beforehand so that the water flows quickly. But, the grass has barely grown at all since last week when I mowed. That's one chore out of the way. But good news/bad news, the cherries that I thought would be fully ripe by this time have arrested development...frozen in time. Looking just as they did last week. This weather seems to have kept the birds away from the cherries and so I may still have a chance to pick some sweet ripe ones once the sun breaks through and warms things up again.