I can't remember rain. Thunderstorms have tracked just north or just south for more than a month. June rainfall total was 0.17 inch and nothing in July. Pansies in the front bed are fried, and I had to water the basil. The cabbages are looking great, however, and the parsley and rosemary are thriving. The tomatoes are standing still, hopefully digging deep while waiting for cooler weather to set fruit. A crunchy lawn doesn't need to be mowed, at least. But there was no second hay crop for the farmers. All the hayfields look as if they were mowed yesterday and it's been a month. There are reports of brush fires, most of obscure origin. If this continues, we're at risk for real forest fires, something we haven't seen here in a long time. This town (Nashua, NH) is built on a sand barrens, which normally burn periodically, so it could happen.

I live in my grandfather's house, and it's full of the detritus of 4 generations (if you count my kids' stuff, left behind when they moved out.) These hot days are good for sorting in front of a fan. I really do understand why a woman might need 2 sets of dishes, one for daily use and another for holidays. So far, I've found at least 8 sets, including a fancy depression glass set. My mother sewed, as did my grandmother. I've boxes of cloth, zippers, buttons, stuff. When the weather cools a bit, there'll be a big yardsale and I've put some good china and glass in a consignment shop. There was a penny from 1797 in the button tin. I don't want to see good stuff go to the landfill, but it's overwhelming sometimes. I'll keep the penny, though, I think.