A hot one

It's 105.5°F in the shade right now. Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter. Thunderheads are forming over the mountains, which means forest fires from now until October. The birds are sitting in their sprinkler, not moving. The dog and cats are lying on the tile floor in the bathroom.
DW picked some broccoli, basil and mint this morning before it got to be tar-bubble hot. I went out a bit later and picked the above, Armenian and lemon cucumbers. Good thing I went out when I did, as the plants were requiring water, even though I watered the garden the day before yesterday. We're getting more veggies than we and our neighbors can eat. A trip to the food bank is in the offing.

I took a bag of beets, various squash and cucs to some friends who have an orchard and traded for gooseberries, peaches and early apples (Transparents, which are green and tangy.), and it was on that trip that I heard the road popping underneath my tires.

Armenian cucumbers are related to the honeydew melon. They have a cucumbery taste and are typically pickled. I cut up four of the bigger ones, sliced up an onion, added honey, rce vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper. We'll let it sit for 24 hours and then eat it over the next 3 days. By then the temperature is supposed to be down to 90.