Update

The strawberries seemed to be done. Now, the drier & warmer days have them producing again. I went out yesterday to fetch in the "last" of the strawberries. Katie and I picked a gallon and a half, and there will be more today or Wednesday. Very nice!

I thought I'd found a van to replace our old one. Superficially it appears to be in perfect shape. But it needs brakes, a battery, and bushings. The sellers don't want to come down enough on the price for us to be willing to buy it. I don't know where we're going to find a van for a better price, but I guess we have to wait. If they don't sell it in another 2-3 weeks, maybe we'd be willing to increase our price a bit, and maybe they'd be willing to come down in their selling price a bit.

Our tradition at our old home was to spend Fourth of July at the parade, then grilling, then fireworks in the evening. The kids went to the fireworks last night, but I was too tired. (That's pretty tired!) Our recent tradition has been getting together with friends. Last year and this year we spent a while singing hymns while some good violinists and Gary joined to play along with the piano music and the voices. I love singing with people!

The cherry tree is bearing nicely. Not only that, but we have hopes for a new tree. The tree is dying. It's not dead yet, but it's in sad and sorry shape. We have let a watershoot grow up next to the tree, growing stronger and thicker each year. It's still tiny, but this year a few flowers appeared. The cherries that grew on this baby tree are identical to the cherries on the big tree. So the big tree isn't a hybrid and it isn't a grafted tree. Hooray! A replacement is slowly on its way.

It's hard to keep dishes done at this time of year. So many big containers! Big bowls to wash lettuce. Big bowls to bring in strawberries. Salad spinner. Colanders being used several times a day. Pitchers of beverages.

Paul came home briefly for the weekend, as a stopping place on his way to a wedding in Indiana. Taking my van, four of my kids and two grandkids headed off to another state, through Chicago. They had a good trip.

The second raised bed is planted in carrots and green beans. It's getting time to harvest the first raised bed (beets, salad greens, cilantro) and maybe put something else out there. I have a LOT of weeding to do in the tomato/pepper garden.

If I have touched a lawnmower this year, it's been only for about 30 minutes. Gary and Andrew (with a little help from Maggie and Philip) have kept the yard looking so neat and tidy this year.

Why are there so many mosquitoes inside my house???