Hot, dry weather all week reminded us summer is here with a vengeance.

After a week with no rain most of the rose of Sharon blooms have fallen and myriads of leaves are dropping from the trees.

Numbers of them fall into the fish pond, requiring frequent cleaning. Garden plants are drooping in the heat, large sections of the lawn are turning brown and the grass is growing slower. Choruses of cicadas still sing their monotonous song each evening and our friends the frogs sound off around the pond.

We’ve been harvesting an abundance of garden produce and sharing vegetables with relatives, neighbors and friends. I fried a couple of zucchini Monday evening and fried okra Tuesday evening.

We’ve been enjoying sliced tomatoes almost every evening, sometimes with sliced cucumbers and green peppers.

Wednesday was a busy day. I went to a meeting at a neighbor’s home early that morning. Brother Richard and my sister Nancy arrived while I was gone and worked on removing trash from an old building Jim demolished Monday. Jim and I made a trip to Siloam to purchase some floor tiles and we had visits from Mama’s new physical therapist and the library manager soon after we returned.

I went to the pharmacy Thursday morning to pick up a prescription, then returned to run the vacuum cleaner. When Jim came home from work he pickeda dishpan full of beans and okra, we delivered some tomatoes and okra to friends and stopped by to get haircuts.

Jim laid some floor tiles while I worked at the office Friday morning. He and grandson A. J. mowed the yard when they returned.

After a week of homegrown vegetables we ordered supper from a local restaurant that evening.

I went to pick up an Angel Food order and visit the farmers’ market Saturday morning while Jim went to grout his floor tiles. We had a late breakfast about 11 and in early afternoon said a reluctant farewell to our neighbors across the street as they finished packing the moving van and took off on their move to Florida.

We drove to Southwest City Sunday morning and stopped by to deliver a bid on a roof on our return trip. I sat on the patio and clipped coupons from the Sunday paper that afternoon while Jim worked on his lawnmower in the shade of a nearby tree.

With school starting in less than a month area stores are stocking school supplies and parents are shopping for new clothing. The Decatur barbecue and Gravette Day are just around the corner.

Someone told me one local store is already displaying Halloween candy.

My, where has the summer gone?

-Susan Holland

Susan Holland, who works for The News Herald, is a lifelong Benton County resident.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 07/28/2010