Summer's Official

I am having more fun than I think any single person has the right to, and it's all here in Durham, a town I rarely leave. After four summers, I'm finally getting to some local staples. I'm taking my first ballet class at 9th Street Dance, just went to my first ADF performance last night, and have started running with the Godiva Track Club, an institution of regional runners for over 30 years. That's on top of the "regular" trips to the Eno quarry, weekend brunches, 3 hour bike rides on great rural roads, free Music on the Lawn at American Tobacco - and gardening. LOTS of gardening. On top of all that, (no wonder I'm behind on my blogging), I've started helping out at Loaf Bakery a couple days a week, including setting up and running their booth at the Wednesday Farmer's Market. SO MUCH FUN! I get to talk to people, help them decide what amazing breads to buy, get the "inside scoop" on local farmers. Never mind the heat, I get to nibble on bread and people-watch for hours. Oh, and K and I just went with some friends to a swing dance that, while in Carrboro, was well worth the drive. Put in there K's birthday, plenty of Habitat time (my aunt and uncle's haven in the country), a weekend or two at the beach, and that's one slamming summer.  Got to remember to rest so I can keep up!

The garden is turning into an urban farm, and I don't know how many pictures are floating in the ether because I've seen more and more people taking shots from the sidewalk with their phones. It makes me smile every time. My tomatoes got hit hard with early blight and because of rain, it took a bit for me to treat the plants. The good folks at Stonebrothers helped me out once again and the plants seem to be recovering under their "prescription." Probably the biggest blunder so far is dwarfed corn. I waited too long to fertilize and now I have stunted stalks which will grow too-small ears of corn. I'll just consider this my "learning year." But the beans and squash don't seem bothered; I just had to build trellises for the climbing plants and the ground is quickly getting overrun with vines and blooms. I've started getting sungolds and summer squash, lots of herbs, and I just spotted the summer's first cucumbers. The last big project I need to complete is reconfiguring my drip irrigation system. I'm late on anyone's standards but with all the rain it hasn't been too much of a bother to water until recently. Wonder where that chunk of time is coming from??? Once again, thanks for reading and apologies for the update-gap. Below are some more garden photos -- more soon as things grow exponentially fast.