Memorial Day Cookout

 With Memorial Day weekend arrived, Tom and I decided we'd grill out. Last year, if you remember, Tom gave us a new  gas grill and we used it once. After he got here, we went out to the barn and uncovered it, took it out into the driveway and fired it up. It was running instantly.

 Of course we had vegetarian fare: curry burgers, corn on the cob, grilled peppers. Tom began by preparing the peppers atop our burn barrel ...

 He had both the large peppers which he gutted and then cut into strips and also the small ones which he left whole. He bought both in red, yellow and orange varieties. Beautiful to look at and true gems beneath the brilliant late-spring sun.

 Then over to the barn. He grilled the peppers on the top rack and corn on the bottom, closer to the flames. We peeled the corn husks back, removed the strings and then folded the green husks back into place. Tom grilled the corn until it was slightly charred.
 He bought the corn in Findlay when he visited stepmother, Clara, on Thursday.
 But as the time came to eat, so did a violent thunderstorm. I had watched it approach on radar and told Tom we'd better be thinking about getting the grill undercover. We lifted it by the two ends, moving it just inside the double doors.

 And there we grilled while the rain poured down. The wind blew the torrent sideways, creaking the barn above us, small trickles dripping from the skylights. We stayed fairly dry but for a light mist blown in by the wind. All told, half an inch fell.

 When the rain stopped enough to get to the house, we carried everything in as best we could. The corn has begun to cool so we brought it back up to temperature with the microwave. In addition to our grilled food, we had deviled eggs (thanks, Mom), coleslaw and soda (Tom chose beer). We had slices of key lime pie for dessert.

 When we went back out, we found the already-misshapen maple at the southeast corner of our property stripped of its only southern limb. Now it is even more oddly-shaped, windswept to the north like a lakeside pine. I suppose it will have to come down. Years ago it was topped by another storm and I've never liked the look of it since.

 Using Tom's tree saw, he cut several branches away and we dragged them to the back of the driveway. We have tree trimmers coming soon and I may add this to their work. Or I may cut the branches  up myself if I have time.

 Even with four rounds of rain, when the sun came out we cleaned Tom's car, a 2009 Prius. He took it over to the automatic car wash first. Then I wiped it dry (big mistake since it quickly got wet again) and vacuumed out the inside, top the bottom, end to end. The car's as clean as we could make it under the conditions.

 We ended the day by cutting up a whole watermelon and sitting on the edge of the porch, eating it and spitting the seeds into the grass. Then it rained again and we were forced into the garage where we finished a few more slices.

 It seems the last several Saturdays have been like this. We've decided to make no more outdoor plans in advance. If we get a sunny Saturday soon we'll take advantage of it. Otherwise we'll make the best of it we can, just like today.