Sunday.

A bit foggy this morning.  We had clouds off and on yesterday but no rain.  All the severe storms went well south, west or east of us.  I watered the gardens well just in case.  I have stevia and peppermint drying and steeping in vodka.  I hadn't planned on doing more than harvesting stevia for syrup but I had enough to fill two dehydrator trays as well as the quart jar.  I prefer to run the dehydrator full with all seven trays so I decided to cut the peppermint.  It did need cutting.  I filled the remaining two trays in the dehydrator and had a fair bit of mint left.  What to do?  Hmmm--if I can extract stevia with vodka, why not the peppermint?  We'll see how it turns out.

I think this could stand as a prime example of a failed investment.

Monday.

The wind was howling last night.  It is still dark and I can't see if anything was damaged in the gardens.  We didn't get any rain yesterday.  Unless we got a good bit overnight I will have to water everything well today.  I saw a streak of red on one of the tomatoes yesterday so we should have our own ripe tomatoes soon.

Update: It is light outside now and overcast.  We didn't get any rain overnight and the wind is still high.  I am not in any hurry to get busy so I will continue reading my blogs and news.

My first thought reading the headline (and nothing else) was "Coober Pedy."  And I was right.  Never heard of it?  Well it is worth a look.  I first heard about this Australian town some quarter-century ago on a TV program with a segment on opal mining.  That what started the town.  It has certainly developed since then.

Update 2:  Just finished grinding peppermint and stevia.  Always amazed by how the taste and smell permeate the area when I am grinding herbs.  The other day Mom wondered if I was drying something.  I wasn't but we had the patio door open.  I have four basil varieties, peppermint, two rosemary plants and lemon thyme near the door.  Just the breeze coming in bring a hint of the herbs with it.  Checked the stevia and peppermint steeping in vodka.  Both developing a good strong flavor. The stevia will be ready tomorrow but the peppermint should "age" for one to two months before I drain it and rebottle it for final use.