Happy Fourth of July!

It's Independence Day weekend here in the United States, when we remember and give thanks for our freedoms, including religion, speech and the press. We often mark the day with parades, picnics and fireworks, and I will be doing that in just a few hours. Because July 4th falls on a Sunday this year, our Federal Holiday is tomorrow, Monday, July 5th, giving us a nice long summer weekend to do the things we enjoy.

This weekend, like most so far this summer, includes time in the garden. There's an old saying that corn should be "knee high by the Fourth of July," but this year it's almost shoulder height, thanks to the early spring and abundant rains.

My little garden has no corn, but already there are quite a few poblano peppers starting ripen,and the tomatoes can't be far behind. The pepper plants all have multiple fruits, and the tomato vines are covered with yellow flowers.

I've also finished the first harvest of the lavender patch, and now the dried herbs are inside of pillows and sachets, making wonderfully fragrant gifts for upcoming birthdays and holidays.

I'm thankful that I have the freedom to do this kind of gardening for the fun of it.

Whether you're celebrating the American holiday this weekend, or enjoying your own national days this summer (or winter Down Under), take time to be thankful and smell the lavender!

Everything is coming in early!

What a strange spring and summer we're having this year. Spring came about a month early - 2010 was the first year without ANY measurable snow in March in the history of measuring snow. And spring actually had arrived by March 21 this year, two months ahead of when it usually springs up here in Rochester. By late May we were experiencing days in the 70s and 80s, and now we are only 7 days into the official summer season and I'm already harvesting herbs! This weekend's crop was lavender. I spent the day clipping, washing and drying, and my house smells wonderful. Next weekend the dried lavender will be sewn into sachets - gifts from the garden. This seasonal cycle has been quite lovely, but I hope it doesn't mean a short summer or an early winter. Warm weather is so much more fun than shoveling snow!

Earthquake

A magnitude-5.5 earthquake struck at the Ontario-Quebec border region of Canada at 1:40 p.m. EDT today, shaking homes and businesses from Toronto to Rochester, NY and was also felt in parts of Michigan and Vermont.

At the time of the earthquake I was 100 miles south of Rochester, in Ithaca, NY, where all was still and peaceful. Visitors to Taughannock Falls climbed the gorge and snapped pictures, completely unaware of what the earth was doing a few hours to the north.

Of course, after experiencing a 7.5 in California in 1999, I might not have noticed what happened today!