How can it be September 9?   Lindenhurst has had extreme weather patterns of heat waves. and torrential down pours, and high winds.  

All I can report off the top of my head is I had to mow down the veg garden in several different days due to the foxtail grass in seed, crabgrass, and every single weed known to mankind.  

Having missed out on many different garden activities due to chest pains, shortness of breath, and jaw/throat pain when exerting the slightest of effort pushing an electric lawn mower, raking, lifting, etc.  I've wasted enormous amounts of time getting the chores done.  And with all this work, the property still looks disheveled. 

Remembering the neighbor's elderberry shrubs, I stopped by and the man was outside.  He said I could come at anytime as long as the gate was open.  Closed meant his pit bulls were out.  That was last Saturday.   So yesterday, September 8th, I went there and luckily the gates were open.  With MORE rain coming, today, I knew yesterday was my only shot at cutting.   I settled for a brown shopping bag and left content with my offerings.  Their yard was filled with birds all gathering up little berries off the ground.  

I clipped off some nicely dense umbels filled with tiny berries ripened to perfection. 

As forecasted, it's raining, today, and I'm in bed resting to see if any chest pains are coming while the body remains calm, and no there are not. 

 I'm watching what I eat.  I made a stockpot of codfish chowder on Tuesday, September 7th.  

I used turnips from the veg garden.  3 lbs. of wild caught cod filets, clam juice, Maine seafood stock, and fat-free Half & Half.  This is a bowl cozy made by a friend, Bobbie, in Utah.  I just LOVE them.  I use them every day.  

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Back to the elderberries,  I need to boil them and remove the stems because there is cyanide in the plant.  The boiling destroys the chemical.  I need to do this today, but first things first.  I called my Cardiologist and made an appointment for October 1 to be seen.  Phew.  Yes this is a major priority.  

Easy does as easy goes.  Let the grass and weeds have their way.  I'll be paying for it next year with so many weed seeds dropping into the lovely organic rich soil of my gardens.  Seriously I put out to the curb and didn't compost between 3 - 6 giant cans a week of hand pulled invasive weeds to be collected by Sanitation - so how many billion seeds did I kick off the land?   This would have become a jungle.  And I'm not Tarzan's girl, Jane.  Though if I was 40 years younger I might love to swing on a vine with him.