Plum Busy by Joan Reeves

My apologies for posting this mid-morning. I'm just tired. *LOL*

We're at our house in the country because the 4 Methley plum trees are ready to pick.

A Methley plum is the size of crabapples and are a deep crimson on the inside. Sweet? OMG, they should be named sugar plums. 

We started yesterday and will finish today—I hope because I'm really tired.

Funny how many muscles are used in picking fruit that aren't normally used in day to day activity.

WALKING IN THE COUNTRY

Even though we're tired from yesterday's fruit picking, we went walking down the country lanes this morning.

We left at 7:15, and the air was crisp and smelled so fresh and clean. No noise of morning rush hour traffic intruded. We heard only doves cooing and song birds tuning up.

Indian Blankets by vafamilyof3, Pixabay.

We walked down the hill from our house and took a couple of lanes that basically made a big loop around our place.

A slight breeze kept us company as we walked through the quiet countryside.

All the wildflowers that begin in mid-spring and continue until fall are blooming.

Indian blankets, wild pink phlox, black-eyed Susans, and evening primrose all grow together in the fields around our house, creating a landscape that's breathtaking.

Even the tall stalks of the bull nettles are pretty as long as you don't touch the thorny things.

Our morning walk worked out the stiffness in our muscles so we're going back outside to finish harvesting the plums as soon as I get this uploaded. I should say we'll finish what's ripe. There are stilll green plums on the trees. Another 2 weeks will see them ripened, and we'll again be picking plums.

Black-eyed Susan by BBLDWP, Pixabay.

ZEN OF GARDENING

This may sound like a lot of work to you, but there's something relaxing and soul-fulfilling in gardening and backyard orcharding.

That alone makes the "work" worthwhile. Then there is the taste of something grown in your home garden and/or orchard. Incredibly delicious!

I've never found anything superior or even as good in the produce section of a supermarket—no matter how upscale that might be.

POSTSCRIPT

We just received a call from the collision center that has been repairing our Explorer after it was rear-ended by a Ram pickup on the freeway almost a month ago. It should be ready to be delivered tomorrow.

We found out that the driver of the truck had no license. The truck he was driving did not belong to him. The insurance information he provided to the police and to us was apparently non-existent or faked. It seems to me the police should be doing something about this.

Of course, that means our insurance for uninsured motorists covered our repairs.

Since I've been seeing a lot of online "news" about auto insurance hikes, I wonder if our rate will go up because of our company having to shell out big bucks for repairing our vehicle?

TRUTH

We were lucky since we escaped without injuries. I think our 2016 Ford Explorer was built really well. 

The whole thing could have been much worse. When the truck that hits us "flew" up in the air, it could have crashed down on top of us instead of beside us. I feel blessed.

By the way, several of my books are available "wide" now at most ebook retailers. If you're interested, check out Books2Read-JoanReeves. The books that are available will be clickable. Eventually all will be available there.

Enjoy this beautiful May!

Fondly,

Joan Reeves — https:/www.facebook.com/JoanReevesWrites

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Summertime & Easy Living by Joan Reeves

I love that old song “Summertime” because it reminds me of the summers I experienced as a child.

The livin' seemed easy. Fish jumped. The cotton was high.

The heat was a palpable thing because no one had air conditioning back then. We had a huge attic fan that pulled in the cool night air, making the curtains my mother made billow like the sails on a tall ship.

That bluesy melody plays in my head as I write this, and it makes me think about all the things I loved about those long ago summers when the living did seem easier or less complicated than life today.

Bygone Years

Since we had no air conditioning, summer evenings before bedtime were spent on the porch and out in the yard. My brothers and I and all the neighborhood kids chased lightning bugs, or fireflies if that’s how you know those little insects that could make a Mason jar glow like a lantern if you caught enough of them. If it wasn’t quite dark yet, most of us played baseball. We never seemed to tire of baseball.

The porch swing creaked as it swayed back and forth, and the rocking chairs added their subtle groan of wood against wood. The quiet voices of the adults on the porch were about the day's events and the talk gleaned from the grapevine that always seems to wind through every small town and rural community.

The Evening Calm

Evenings were peaceful and a time to relax after a long day. I think people in today’s world have lost that end of the day winding down. Instead of talking quietly, as a family, about the day, we seek relaxation in front of a television set, computer screen, or video game. It’s just not the same.

In fact, a lot of scientific studies have been done that say those modern ways to relax actually interfere with sleep rather than make it restful. In a society where sleep deprivation is rampant, maybe we should change the way we unwind in the evenings?

Small Town and Rural America

The habit of enjoying the quiet calm of evening still lives in small towns and rural America. I see it whenever I visit my brother on his farm or talk with friends who live in the small towns near our country house. That small town environment is what I often write about in my romance novels.

Many of my books are set during the summer. In my romantic suspense, Heat Lightning, I touch on this a little and a lot on the phenomenon of heat lightning. Tessa and David are secluded at a lake house in West Texas. When their WiFi goes out, a neighboring rancher offers his mobile device for David to use.

That’s what people in ranch country do. If someone has a need, his neighbors are willing to help.

Later when there’s trouble at the lake house, not only does the county Sheriff show up, but also the neighboring ranchers. Farm and ranch folk are used to helping each other out.

Weather Phenomenon

The title for my romantic suspense novella was a no-brainer for me because the phrase heat lightning has always had a certain cachet for me. Perhaps because I remember watching it often in the summer night sky. I can still sit on the porch at our country house and witness   heat lightning, which happens when lightning can be seen but no thunder is heard.

On Sale Until June 24

This week Heat Lightning is on sale for only 99 cents. You can find it at: Amazon Kindle * iBooks * Kobo * Nook * Smashwords.

I wish you a summer full of good books, good times, and easy living! And maybe an occasional instance of heat lightning.

Post Script

NY Times and USA Today bestselling romance author Joan Reeves lives her happily ever after with her hero, her husband, in the Lone Star State. Her books, available as ebooks and audiobooks, all have the underlying theme that is her motto: It’s never too late to live happily ever after.

Readers, sign up for Joan’s email list/newsletter, WordPlay. Writers, sign up for Writing Hacks, Joan's free newsletter for writers with tips about the art, craft, and business of writing.

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