Billie wrote: > > I do get red and itchy touching the pricklies, but it doesn't go all the > way into a rash, and it doesn't last long. > > Hope her trip is good and that things around the garden/house don't get > *too* sad...:) Maybe just the right kind of missing - where just when > it starts to get lonely she'll be back and you and Sleepy will > appreciate her all the more. > > News from our garden: deer have eaten every single peach off the smaller > of the two peach trees - in one night! Taking a cue from that I've > picked two big bowls of peaches off the bottom half of the other bigger > peach tree and we've been enjoying them all weekend. They weren't quite > ripe but seemed to ripen quickly in the kitchen window. > > We have so many pears I'm not sure what we'll possibly do with them all. > They're still hard so I have some time to figure it out! Pear mincemeat (no meat in it), pear wine, pear conserve, cinnamon pears, creme de menthe pears, pear honey, pear butter, pear sauce. Wish I was closer as our pear tree hasn't started bearing yet and our friend decided to cut both of his down. > > Lots of tomatoes and green peppers, but the squash plants have gotten > way too much rain. The kids are happy b/c their watermelons are doing > well. I hope they get at least a few big ones. > > Got the roses by my son's window back up on its new trellis. The > goldfish and koi have babies which I'm hoping can evade the big giant > bullfrog living in the same pond with them. > > There's the constant buzz of insects outside and it's hot but we've been > getting a little breeze the past few days so it seems cooler. > > billie Heat index outside at the moment is 106F, Sleepy and I are hiding in the air conditioning. George