June

Summer has finally arrived and we are sadly closing out the month of June. That means we are halfway through the year 2023. I think the most talked about thing this June has been the weather. The best way I know to describe the weather is to say it is "bipolar". We have already experienced extreme intense heat, wild and crazy storms and unrelenting wind. 

June means the end of school and families will be making plans for holidays and activities to keep the kids entertained. Summer is so much fun and why does it have to zoom by in such haste? 

I remember going to school in June. I guess trying to learn in an incubator will always stick with you. For those schools with no air conditioning the kiddos have already endured horribly high temps. When I was in Grade 10, parts of the high school burnt. The solution was to use the elementary school for high school students. The elementary students went to school from 8-2 and high school from 2-8. That is how we spent our last 2 months of school in 1972. It was hot, smelly from the hot little ones that had already been there, and overall life just sucked being done at school at 8pm.  

My memories of summer are of it always being hot, really hot. If hot, the day ended with a wild thunderstorm and rain. Living on a farm meant you couldn't walk to the pool and spend the day there, like the town kids. We would pack a lunch leave in the morning on our bikes and spend the day traveling the countryside. No phones, no concerns about strangers or other things that could happen. Life was just so simple then.

Yesterday, I traveled to Saskatchewan. It was a beautiful clear day, and the sights were wonderful. I am always impressed by the way the farmyards are now kept like a golf course. Massive amounts of grass is cut and the ditches are literally groomed. I also noticed how lush and clean the crops were. Some farmers have started to cut alfalfa and the canola is blooming. I even got to see some aerial spraying. I understand the grasshoppers and beetles are bad. Memories of the RB aerial spraying came rushing back to me. For those who know RB, you know what I am referring to. The man was one of the best, but one of the craziest. Let's just say, he never missed an opportunity to say Hi, by buzzing your home, vehicle or while you worked in the field. We always knew when he was spraying in the neighborhood, and believe me his day started very early.  

I had a lovely day in Saskatchewan, and I knew there was a severe weather watch in Brandon. I was enjoying my trip back until halfway between Souris and #10 highway. It was like Mother Nature turned a switch and said, "watch this". The highway was dry one second and soaked the next, and then I literally hit a wall of hail and rain. I knew the smart thing to do was to go back to where I was and not towards the storm. I spun around on the highway and took off. I drove out of it quickly, but some damage was already done. Those golf ball size hail make a mark. I waited it out for half an hour until MN had calmed down and home I went. The storms have been nasty to say the least this year. This is what the day had produced in Brandon. 

June is the month to celebrate Father's Day as well as School graduations. My great nephew is graduating this year and heading to the states to fulfil his dreams of becoming a Mechanical Engineer. My youngest Granddaughter celebrated her 7th birthday in a grand style. We have all celebrated the start of summer, the thriving of crops, hay land, lawns, gardens and flowers. Just so much growth occurs during the month of June.  

I have decided I am going to go rogue, for the months of July and August. During these summer months, I will be only making random posts. I would like to think this will have an impact on your life but pretty sure it won't. Just enjoy your summer to the fullest.  

In closing I am sharing a recipe for rhubarb. June is the month that rhubarb is abundant, and a new recipe is always welcome. This is very much like the half hour pudding used with raisins 

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pudding

Boil for 10 minutes or until tender: 4 cups of fresh rhubarb and one cup of sugar.

(Add sugar to your own taste, it was a bit tart)

Mix: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp melted butter, 1 cup flour, 2 tsp baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup milk. 

Pour batter in 9X9 pan. Cover with rhubarb mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 35 mins.

Enjoy!