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Our garden cantaloupes were ripe as we entered a hot and sticky Labor Day weekend, with the emphasis, for me, on Labor, of both the town and country varieties (conference calls; barn-sweeping).

Our third-floor neighbors the Seilers, including Sarah’s friend Annie, visited for the weekend.  The girls had a wonderful time, staying up late and then sleeping like stones on the sleeping porch.

Here is the fair beater Hurricane Irene, as seen from the PondCam™ at 9:30 this morning.

The last two days of the 166th Dutchess Country Fair were canceled because of Hurricane Irene.  We were all immensely disappointed not to be able to attend this year.  We had high hopes for ribbons and looked forward to meeting bunnies, drinking 4H milkshakes, going on midway rides, and enjoying the various other pleasures of the fair.  Instead, we spent the morning hatch-battening and headed back to New York with an armload of basil to make pesto and ride out the storm.

The barn swallows also left today — the same day as their departure last year.

On a somewhat cheerier note, here are some of the flowers blooming in the garden: sunflower, morning glory, and anemone.

Lew and Rinda visited this weekend.  To celebrate, we pressed Sarah’s wagon into service for a small cocktail party in Jen’s secret garden.

The garden itself is looking great.  Here is one of the butterfly bushes that Jen planted in the spring.

Everyone had a good time.

Sarah got her grandfather to play Quirkle with her, and led several games of the aptly named Aggravation with the whole family.

In other important news, on Saturday Jen and Sarah entered their black raspberry jam, and I entered my bread & butter pickles, in the Dutchess County Fair.  We are looking for ribbons next week.

On a rainy, slow-moving Sunday, Jen, Sarah and Grandpa toured the garden.

Here is the largest of our six cantaloupes.

This poblano is about the size of a matchbox.

We have lots of tomatoes this year, but the Brandywines — my favorite — have not fared well.  This is a Jet Set.

The tomatoes are threatened by the diabolically camouflaged Tomato Hornworm, which is as large a caterpillar as you would ever want to meet.

The Rose of Sharon was in full bloom as we began our summer vacation at the end of July.  We had a wonderful time with wonderful people and wonderful food.

Sarah was thrilled to have a visit from her Grandpa, who taught her how to play golf.

We were all delighted to have a visit from Aunt Roxy.

And we had a great time with John Harris and his sons, here pictured enjoying supper with Sarah in their Kids’ Clubhouse.

The Harrises also joined us for a trip on the water taxi which runs across the Hudson River between Rhinecliff and Kingston, providing great views of the Rondout Lighthouse.

We also had an uninvited visitor: this woodchuck, who had conducted a massive excavation under the diesel tank next the barn.  We took him out to the countryside, for reeducation.

We ate like kings.  These peaches saw lots of action.

Jen served her peach pie with my blackberry ice cream.

And, with some blueberries added …

… she made a delicious peach/blueberry buckle.

We also had homemade gravlax, a treat for daredevils.

Sarah enjoyed Art Camp in Red Hook, as well as Secret Agent Camp and Crazy ChemWorks Camp in Rhinebeck (don’t ask).

And, finally, here are some of the last of our roses.

We arrived this weekend to find a full moon, the Rose of Sharon in bloom (and also some lilies, far right), and the fence nearly completed.

Early Saturday morning the fence was occupied by these turkeys, who seemed to approve of the construction.

I think if you played the first four turkeys it would sound like a cavalry charge.

The new fence is going in nicely, bringing order where there was chaos.

In the same vein, the mower was repaired this week, and it got a real workout.  I mowed everything.

And I mean everything!

We had a very pleasant, if occasionally rainy, Fourth of July weekend.

Everyone waited patiently for the rain to stop.

Our front-yard bunny found a nice dry spot.

But it’s black raspberry season, so we could not stay inside forever.

Jen and Sarah made a dozen or so jars of jam.

Sarah made sure everything was up to snuff.

While we were stuck indoors, we cooked more than just black raspberry jam.  We made challah …

… and lemonade, made pink with the foam from the jam.

Once the rain cleared, Sarah took out her bicycle.  Somehow, over the winter, she has learned to ride.

Work continues apace at the farm, as we (or, more specifically, Chuck Kelsoe and his nephew) dismantled the fence, which we are replacing.  Del Wolcott told me he that built this fence from locust trees that he cleared to build the house on the hill on the other side of what is now Wolcott drive, where the Hohners live.

Wildlife abounds these days, including this fawn, eating mulberries fallen from the tree at the end of the driveway …

… these turkeys, pictured without their large brood …

… this miffed-looking woodchuck, possibly tired of the endless questions about his abilities …

… and this little bunny, who has taken up residence on the front lawn and is too young to be afraid of us.

Let us not neglect the invertebrates: here, a spicebush swallowtail snacks on some milkweed, and here I am flying a kite.

The lilies that Jen and Sarah planted this spring are blooming.

And here Sarah poses with a still life of daisies, which she is thinking of entering in the Dutchess County Fair.  In the background, her mother potters in the garden.