Summer is blazing fiercely now, alternating between intense sun and intense afternoon thunderstorms slashing lightning through the pouring rain. We had a heat warning issued this week, the weathermen earnestly warning us against outdoor activities for most of the day if possible. The heat and humidity combined to produce heat indexes in triple digits for most of the week. We are earnestly looking forward to the cold front promised to move through tonight and drop the highs from the high 90 degrees F to the low 90's.

The heat has burned the freshness of spring greens into the darker summer greens. The garden is busy making foliage to gather the sun's energy and turn it into sweetness to store for the winter months. The new growth is rapidly filling in the gaps from last year's pruning. The shrubs are in need of another pruning before they swamp the garden again.

The cats are spending a great deal of time indoors or back in the shade, partly from the heat and partly from the enraged mockingbirds dive-bombing them again. Either that pair raised a second clutch of babies or they had a late set of fledglings. They are plunging in suicidal arcs, sometimes sweeping a mere two or three inches from the ground before rising in the air again.

I saw a robin fledgling hiding among the weeds when I went out this evening to check on the garden, its parent squawking indignantly as I neared that section of the garden. The baby finally exploded from its hiding place and flapped awkwardly several feet farther away before settling down among the weeds again. I turned away from it, noting that Rascal wasn't paying attention to it. It isn't really ready to fly well yet, but with a parent still nearby it has a chance to survive.

The tomatoes are ripening well, painting a blaze of gold or red here and there among the foliage. I'm still losing a few to pests, but we're getting enough for tomato feasts. The heat has stopped the plants from setting more fruit for now, but they are still doing well enough that they hopefully will set more fruit in a few weeks when the weather cools. Mom and I are gobbling bowls of juicy tomato chunks with our favorite toppings and salad dressings.

The crape myrtles, hardy hibiscus, and altheas are blooming along with a few zinnias which are almost criminal in their appreciation for hot weather. They're making me feel guilty for not weeding their bed more diligently as they lift sturdy blooms above the top of the weeds. I pull a few weeds occasionally before retreating to the air conditioning.

Crafting is getting much more time now. I finally finished outlining the blocks for the long neglected star block quilt except for one more set of quilting lines around the very outside of the border to secure the edges of the quilt. Then I will have to decide if I want to fill in the blocks with more motifs or background quilting. It looks pretty good right now, but there are some large spaces which could be decorated with more quilting.

The patchwork vest/jacket is sitting awaiting a design for the sleeves. I took the book I was using for fair isle knitting designs back to the library thinking that I wasn't going to make sleeves, and now someone else has it checked out. I could try using some quilting block designs along the sleeves, but I haven't quite decided yet.

Part of what put it on hold was the usual stumbling block to completing my projects, another project getting attention. I got a card from the Guideposts Sweater Project informing me of a new address to send sweaters. I still had some yarn left over from the last set since I had stopped when I filled a nice box to send to them thinking that I would take it up again in the fall.

I took the card as a sign that I was needed in God's sweater knitting army and took up the pattern again. I've finished a light country rose sweater already and have started a brown one. That and the quilt will keep me busy until I can try to get that knitting book again and decide on those sleeves.