It seems really strange to be working on my column in our office without a fan blowing at high speed.

I also can't believe I walked around all day yesterday with a flannel shirt on. I had to check the calendar this morning to be sure it was July. What wonderfully peculiar weather!

Despite the coolness, our tomatoes are starting to bump up production. Bekka and our newest intern Megen are working at the dining room table right now cutting up some beautiful ones for our first canning run. We are also having good harvests of eggplant and green beans. Some of our other summer crops are laggards due to the chillier nights, notably summer squash and peppers. We have had some nice harvests of cucumbers and the interns have put up some beautiful dill spears and bread and butter pickles. Our friend Dwayne also gifted us with some zucchini and cucumbers, which have been put to good use.

Megen arrived on July 13th and plans to be with us through sorghum season. She visited Sandhill and Dancing Rabbit three and a half years ago and carried away some good memories of both communities. She has worked in her family's maple sugar business in northern Pennsylvania and travelled extensively since then.

Our friend Julie and her grandson Eric stayed with us until the 16th before heading home to Texas. Their last full day here was spent seeing the sights of Kirksville and joining the Rabbits for the birthday celebration at Thousand Hills State Park. Eric, who is fourteen, was part of the flotilla on the lake and had a great time.

Kristen's friend, Steph, came down from Iowa City on the 16th and was here until the following Sunday. She is spending the summer with a friend and working before heading back to school in Colorado this fall. We had an overnite visit from Sarah and Daniel, who are also Kristen's friends, this past Wednesday. Sarah and Kristen have known each other since fourth grade.

Some of our crew spent the evening at Dancing Rabbit last Wednesday. We went over to see Kurt and Alline's "multi-media presentation" of photos from their Sierra Club trip in England. Dan set up a couple of computer monitors and several lap-top computers so we could all see them. The scenery was lovely and the pictures of all the incredible desserts they ate at various pubs along the way left us wanting more.

We also took the opportunity to wish Kurt and Alline a good journey to California. Alline's mother is in poor health and they plan to be away for a while.

Kristen, Susie and our visitor Christopher went to Hannibal yesterday to attend an event called "Paddle for the Presidency". College friends of Kristen's are canoeing the length of the Mississippi this summer as part of an effort to get more young people involved in the electoral process and Hannibal was one of their stops.

Christopher,who has been here for three weeks, will be jumping on his bicycle tomorrow morning(Monday)and heading for St. Joseph. He is going to a barbershop quartet convention there before biking back to Indiana to see his family. He is thinking about returning for at least part of sorghum season.

Laird and Jo left for Washington, DC on July 14. Laird held another session of the ongoing facilitation training workshops he is doing while they were there. These are being given on several weekends over a two year period. Jo spent some time with her friend Shoshanna again before attending a career orientation weekend at a culinary school in Charlotte, NC she wants to attend after she graduates from high school next year. Laird and Jo are due back at Sandhill this evening.

Stan headed to Kansas on the 19th for his last long inspection trip of the season. He was able to finish our wheat harvest before leaving in spite of some frustrating weather delays. He will stop in Kansas City to visit friends before coming home next Thursday.

Bekka has been kept busy with mowing the harvested fields. Jayd moved the sorghum weeding along in Stan's absence and Gigi has been keeping a close watch on the bees. Honey harvest is probably not too far off and Gigi and Christopher did a thorough clean of Sugar Shack in anticipation of it. In the midst of summer, there is a definite feeling of having lots to do. But the feeling of abundance goes along with it. That is a satisfying place to be in.