Half Over

Remember how the end of July meant that summer was half over? It doesn't feel that way when you are retired. The fine, warm...no hot, days and muggy nights seem to go on for ever. If the weatherman says it will rain tomorrow, that's ok. I can wait a day or two to do ...whatever. There doesn't seem to be an urgency to cram as much as I can into the sunny days. In fact, I'm

pretty tired of mosquitoes and mowing the lawn (eventho we had about 3 weeks of burnt brown lawn last week's rain has rallied the grass and it's time to mow again!)

The garden has finally started to produce...thanks to Jeff's faithful work in it! We had broccoli last night and it was the best I've ever eaten...although I may have over cooked it a bit. We had peppers and beans last week. The tomatoes are

getting bigger but none have started to ripen. Last evening Jeff thinned and transplanted carrots and beets. Where he gets the patience to do this I'll never know. I don't care about the beets (Jeff & Mom do) but I am looking forward to the carrots!

The watermelon in one of the corn

er boxes is started to produce fruit. That's a watermelon in the center of this photo (l). I'm hoping to do a photo record of it as it grows. There are several other...smaller...melons growing, too. We picked round zucchini last night too. The small one in front is the size we were suppose to pick it at but the rain boosted

the others past that point before we could. There is

one more on that plant that is even bigger. Hopefully that will be our seeds for next year.

Another good thing about the rain we've been getting is that it gives me plenty of time to knit.

This is a pin-stripe sweater I did for the shop. It's the 2nd time I successfully did the pin-stripes and I hope it lasts in the shop as long as the first one did (3 days.) That's means it will be gone when we stop there after Mom's MD appointment in Cooperstown! (Fingers crossed.) I also

did some cotton sun hats. The colors are bright and they look good. Hope some one will like them, too!

When Fanny and I were out this morning I was noticed how beautiful the Rose of Sharon is this year. My mother's brother-in-law/godfather, Frank Fiala, gave her a slip from the plant in his yard when my parents bought this house. That was 50 years ago! I consider this plant an antique and you can see from the photo why it's called a rose. The bud and the center of the blossom look like a rose. It has never looked better...full of blossoms! Jeff has it on his list of plants to get 'compost tea' and it really seems to like the extra attention.

I'm willing to share a root cutting from this plant if any of my Fiala cousins are interested.