Wow. What happened to July? I am positively gobsmacked by the speed with which time is passing. I realize I should be used to it now, life has been accelerating ever since I graduated from college, but I still can’t help but be startled by it.

What’s new? Well, I was on TV again last week, this time on the NBC 10 Show doing a canning demo. Sadly, it does not appear to be available on their website, so there’s no clip to share. In its place, I do have a fresh episode of Fork You to offer. Not quite as thrilling for my parents, but it’s something!

I’ve been neglecting my garden something awful lately. It’s just so infested with mosquitoes that I can’t spend more than ten minutes down there without being absolutely destroyed by those little critters. When I was a kid, I was allergic to mosquitoes, each bite site would swell up so that it looked like I had a tennis ball tucked under my skin. While I don’t react like that anymore, too many bites still make me run a slightly elevated temperature and make me feel crappy for at least an hour afterwards.

Additionally, something has devastated my cucumbers and zucchini plants, so the whole project has lost a lot of its joy. As much as I wanted the garden, I’m not sure I can handle having a garden plot a mile and a half away from home next year (particularly one that is so infested by mosquitoes). I’m thinking about ripping all the veggies out and just planting herbs. At least that would be something (and mosquitoes aren’t fans of rosemary and lavender).

My garden has been in the ground for just about a month now, and it’s really starting to catch up with the other plots around me. I’ve got one little zucchini and bunches of flowers that make me hopeful for many more. The cucumbers are taking over and are blooming with such vigor that I’m feeling so grateful that I planted the pickling kind. The tomatoes are starting to set and my basil continues to put out so many fragrant leaves. I am delighted.