Today’s pop-up shower came early and surprised me. Usually they arrive in the mid- to late-afternoon. Today’s was noon-time-ish.

When I checked the garden early, however, it was still damp from Monday’s evening downpour, yet I’m very glad to have more precipitation. Still, most of the tomatoes are being lost to squirrels and black scummy mildewy nastiness that gets inside them.

So, to distract you (and me!), here’s a picture of Ek’Balam, a famous lowland Late Classic Maya archaeological site on the Yucatan Peninsula. I was there seven years ago today. In the foreground is the ballcourt. Beyond the trees is the highest structure in the civic-ceremonial center, and is the part of the settlement where tourists are welcomed. The residential area, however, expanded outward, I dunno how far.

These are the days, my friend…when critters are eating other critters and critters are eating plants and plants are doing their thing, and some living things aren’t getting their sustenance. The cycle of life is a trade-off.

Spider on left and stink bug or shield bug (something) on the right…just outside the window….

While the signature vegetable of Sicily is the eggplant (especially the smallish white ones), the signature dish, I have read several places (although I’ve also seen it ignored), is peperonata. Peperonata is sauteed sliced peppers (various colors) stewed with onions and tomatoes, a few green olives, and flavored with basil and red wine vinegar (salt and pepper, too, of course). Well, that’s one version.

Vegetable stews that are heavy on tomatoes, onions and peppers are big all around the Mediterranean. Add eggplant and you’re headed toward puttanesca or caponata….

And this is a sofa..

For me, the best part is the tennis ball.

Is it a character flaw that as I contemplate the impending fourth season of Mad Men, that I find the women characters more interesting than the men?

Dad’s dad, whose English was maybe his tenth language—and for most I suspect he knew just the functional words, the words you needed to survive—fascinated me. We saw him irregularly, maybe every three years or so.

In the KW style, he should have a nickname here, complete with capitalization. I keep coming back to The Hard-Scrabble Farmer, but that doesn’t tell the whole story by any means.

Anyway, one of my memories of his language ticks was that he would rub the cat’s belly and say, with what I came to realize was admiration, “You lazy bugger, you.”

As to behavior ticks, he cruised through the day with a small glass of plum brandy at his side as he read the newspaper, one small sip perhaps every half hour, whether he was sitting indoors or out.

Very hot. And sticky. Today.

But why do I mention this? I was inside all day except for running a few errands.

Stomates.

I wondered if I could see them when I took this photo.

Then I wondered if I had the name right.

Turns out: probably not; and, yes.

Stomates are stoma/stomata, the wee pores that open/close and allow the plant to intake carbon dioxide (breathing, essentially, to a plant); the downside is that by opening, this facilitates transpiration (loss of water vapor analogous to sweating in critters).

In general, a plant has more stomata on the bottom-sides of leaves than the tops.

My life is so boring all I can think of to discuss is my garden produce.

Mostly. So….

Dju know…that Italy’s wolf populations are s-l-o-w-l-y bouncing back? See, this has to be important to Italians because a mama wolf (no grizzly, she) was a leading player in the legend of Rome’s founding…. Turns out there are several founding legends, but the twins and the she-wolf was always the story I heard….

Or is it tomato art?

I’m not sure what’s going on. Two of my tomato plants are ho-hum. Dotty-yellowy leaves, not a tragedy just not quite right. Not sure why. I think they’re purchase-mates.

The rest are plenty green. Just taking a production break. Or the rodents are getting any of the product that’s getting the rosy tint we all hope for.

This one’s a yellow tomato. Not to be confused with the orange tomato (we ate one tonight).

Okay, it’s a green yellow tomato. But it’s still a yellow tomato.

And not a pear tomato.

I’ll stop now.