Baker's dream: full bursting heat of summer

Midsummer, wide hipped, full blown, worldly.  The nymph-like charm of spring, half-remembered, a dream.

Verging on intolerable, the full bursting heat of June and July, thriving weeds, obnoxious, arrogant, irreverent heads raised to the sun. Once an almost manageable annoyance, creeping Charlie, ever tenacious, foothold expanded, sends runners like alien invaders. Rain, do I even dare mention, almost daily; in the aftermath birthing mutant grassy variants, grown seemingly overnight to stand mockingly greater than knee high in the flower beds, their roots, I imagine, digging deep, twining, interlocking lest I dare to remove them…. seed heads formed with the speed of spawning demons.

Deterred by heat and humidity, by mosquitos large as dragonflies, and a bounty of cupcake orders, I have been forced to forgo all but  feeble weeding attempts.  Quick window glimpses confirm my worst fears: my orphaned garden, unkempt and neglected. As in years past I have come, momentarily, to regret a most expansive and unmanageable outdoor space, gardens that have outgrown their boundaries. I secretly yearn for expanses of concrete and blacktop. My black heart holds a hidden longing for an early killer frost.

I did bake an order of carrot cupcakes.  Cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans.

Please order cupcakes from Fatt Cat. Sorry we are not available to help with weeding.

Rockton writer Pat Mannino is the owner of Fatt Cat Cafe in Rockton, where she makes cupcakes and hosts special events. To place an order, call her at 815-624-2832 or email fattcatcafe@charter.net.