To The Surbiton Manor Born

Yesterday afternoon, a sudden thunderstorm whipped up, and as the initial blast of wind came through, it snapped this limb off of the neighbor's ash tree, which landed, fortunately I guess, mostly on the strawberry bed. Though it did break the cover. We'll have to have a chat with the neighbors about getting it out of our yard, always awkward. That said, it is literal windfall, and I think we'll saw up and stack the larger pieces for firewood in two years. Summer is short. I'm counting it down this year by my marathon training schedule. In just nine short weeks, it will be Sept. 23, and time to run the Ely Marathon . That'll mark the end of summer. But before then, next week is going to fall on us like the flaming sword of the archangel Gabriel. 90's predicted all week, with just a few bouts of thunderstorms. It's going to be hot, and it is going to be dry. What I've noticed about the storms this year is that they only spit a little bit of water. It isn&

 The strawberries are last week's news. The "dog days of summer" are upon us. They are the very best time of year.  It's difficult to keep up with the garden just now. Squash are extending themselves what seems like feet overnight. Tomatoes are starting to blossom. We will have our first zucchini before the week is out. Early lettuce is going to seed. The snow peas are popping. The marigolds are in bloom. Horrible Japanese beetles have infested one of our apple trees. Just the one tree. After a run of 12 miles on Saturday, and another route 6 miles today, it has become clear to me that it is the only tree in all of our town that is infested. Raspberries are thriving. What I won't be doing this year is rushing out in the heat of a 90 degree day with a spray bottle full of Dawn. This is what burned all the leaves off last year. Instead, I've ordered a supply of neem oil, and if they are present tomorrow morning, I will purchase and wrap the trees in row-cover.