Rain.

"Hey man, take a look out the window 'n' see what's happ'nin'
Hey man, it's rainin'"
-Jimi Hendrix, "Rainy Day, Dream Away"

I hate to complain about the rain (that falls mainly on the plain). Seeing as I find myself complaining about the general lack of rain often enough. But I find I'm quite adept at complaining about pretty much anything.

I would prefer it to be a bit drier now that it's tomato season. This rainy business creates a breeding ground for blight and fungi (which I like to refer to as "blungi"). And, long story short, that ain't no good for the tomatoes.

Yeah sure, it helps them grow and whatever. But it doesn't exactly help their flavor. It kinda makes them taste a bit watered down. So, in an attempt to remedy that, I've been harvesting them at their first blush of color and letting them ripen on a newspaper-covered table. Seems to help. And they're still better than Red Round Hybrid #370XX4Z. In my relatively biased opinion.

Per usual, I'm already thinking ahead to next season, when I will grow a small percentage of my tomatoes in a hoop house. This will help me get ripe tomatoes earlier, offer tomatoes later and allow me to control the weather conditions a little better.

Everyone has heirlooms in mid-August. Only a few people have them in late-July. Almost nobody has them in mid-July.

And I want to be one of those almost-nobodies.