And once again we have an early deadline for articles going into the newspaper. It has been a pleasant week, but from the forecast we are going to have a nasty, hot weekend. And once again, we really could use some or lots of rain. When I mow the orchard and can brush dust off my skin, there is too much dirt in the air from passing vehicles. And I have dust control sprayed on the road in front of my place.

When I mowed this week, I noticed the lack of apples. I remember that the trees didn’t flower very profusely in the spring. I shouldn’t expect much since I think the trees were planted in the late ’50s. So those that are still standing are 70 years old. Nearly as old as I am. I can understand why they are tired.

Monday and Tuesday when I mowed, there were swarms of Asian beetles and they were ready to land and bite. And the little green things that bite were plentiful, too. I have several itchy bites to prove it. My container tomato plant has not been too productive. I have picked four tomatoes and three of them had black bottoms. Now that it is near the end of the season, the plant is deciding to produce. I have 11 fruits in various sizes and several blossoms. Maybe I can have a BLT after all.

Did you see the blue supermoon midweek? It was really spectacular. It was huge when it rose and it took on a golden hue when it was setting at 5ish in the morning. I got some great pictures.

I tried kayaking for the first time this week. What a fun sport. Char Strand invited me to try it at her pond where it is safer than on a large body of water. I needed help to get out of the kayak from Charlie and Char, but I’m going to work on strengthen my legs before next year when I get serious.

One sad note. My favorite ice cream shop, Art’s Dairy Freeze in Montevideo closed for the season September 1 due to a lack of help. I love their specialty flavors of soft serve. There’s always next year.

I hope you had a safe Labor Day. Enjoy the last of summer. Hugs and kisses to all.