September Rain!

Raindrops on Spiderwebs

It rained last night/early this morning!  Not a lot, but, enough to wet the ground!  It is unusual to get rain in September.  It's been a cloudy day, today, and the temperature never rose above 74F even though the high today was forecast to be 77F.  Even 77F is unusually cool for us at this time of the year, with our average temperature for September being 90F and the record high being 103F last year, 2022.

I still have a little pain in my hip, but, it's not too bad.  I took a small stroll around the garden in the morning, when I went out to unlock the gate for M, take the kitchen trash out, and check the mail.  

The Euphorbia tirucalli is having a new spurt of growth after the earlier rain compliments of tropical storm Hilary:

New Growth on the Euphorbia Tirucalli

At long last, the moringa tree is showing some new growth - it thrives in the hot weather and this year, the summer was too cool for it to come out of winter dormancy.  It's growing now, but, I doubt if it will have enough warm weather to grow any pods.

Moringa Leaves and Flower Buds

In the meantime, the calamondin tree has new flowers!  It's a type of citrus and the flowers smell wonderful!

Calamondin Tree and Flowers

There's always something new to see in the garden.

M was here in the early afternoon, today.  He watered the fruit trees because the amount of rain we received overnight wasn't quite enough for them and he did some tidying and weeding.  

My half sister called this morning to check on me.  I had called her, earlier in the week, but, she didn't answer and her answering machine didn't come on.  I didn't call her after that and she called, saying she hadn't spoken with me in a while, which was nice.

I put away a load of laundry that I had hung up to dry and cooked the beef chuck roast that I had bought, last week.  I had planned to make a beef curry, but, I didn't feel like standing and cutting the meat, so, I made a dish known as "ismoru" in Sinhalese or smore/smoore (it is spelled both ways) in English, which is like a spicy pot roast, cooked in coconut milk and spices.  It is a Sri Lankan pot roast with Dutch origins and usually made by the ethnic group known as Burghers, who are the descendants of the Dutch and Portuguese in Sri Lanka.  I am not a Burgher, but, my maternal grandmother was and she used to make beef smore for family gatherings:

Mas Ismoru (Meat Smore/Smoore)

Once cooked, it is supposed to be fried in ghee and then, sliced and served with the thick gravy, with rice or bread.  I am not sure if I want to fry it, yet, because I plan to portion it up and freeze most of it.  I might fry the individual portions as I thaw them, just before slicing and eating them.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- The rain we received overnight
- M tending to the garden
- New growth on the plants in the garden
- A call from my half-sister
- Old family recipes

Today's joyful activities included chatting with my half-sister, visiting a bit with M before he started on the garden, and walking in the garden.  

How was your day?