A Trying Year For Optimists

Farming is an act of faith. That the seeds will grow, that there will be rain, and sun, and heat, and a barn full of hay for the winter. That the shelves in the pantry will be lined with jars of tomatoes, and the freezer full of veggies for the long winter.
This summer is one to try that faith .
After our devastating hail storm in June all our lettuce was destroyed and other plants reduced to just bare stems. But the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants continued to grow, and even thrive. It was again looking like this could turn out to be a good year. Never in a million years did I think that the devastating blight that has been blanketing the east coast would touch our beautiful, strong,healthy, green, vibrant tomatoes. On Sunday they were fine, by Tuesday, they were peppered with blight. This is not the "normal" early blight that is common in a wet year, but the blight that caused the potato famine in Ireland. We are doing what we can. We have pulled out the worst, and are pruning off the leaves on some with the hopes of having enough for us, to put up for the winter.
I am hoping for a stretch of some dry weather so we can get in our fall crops, the broccoli and the lettuce. Because, being the optimist I am, we'll probably have a great fall.