For farmers trying to make dry baled hay this has been a discouraging summer. It seems the rain always comes just before the hay needs one more dry day. 

 As far as growing conditions go everything seems to be doing great. I have never seen the growth of weeds and vegetation along the highways as there is this year. The cheery yellow of Bird's Foot Trefoil lightens and livens the sides of many of the highways. In Pennsylvania they use Crown Vetch on many of the steep side hills which not only brightens the scene but also keeps the steep side hills from washing. All the corn fields that Fritz and I drive by both here and in PA seem to be in good condition. Alfalfa fields and pastures seem to just keep right on growing another crop.

 We have had some pretty sad times here with our dogs. First Monica's little Jack Russell terrier must have heard coyotes in the edge of the woods, went to investigate, and we've never heard from him again. And then some time ago my Cocker Spaniel was going by Gerry Shirley's house and must have done something that disturbed or displeased the big dog. I don't think it was the size of our dog for the little Jack Russell had visited there numerous times. Any way, Gerry and I spent more than $500 to get him put back together again and then when he seems to be his old cheerful self again, all at once his hearing goes and one eye gathers and breaks and the other one turns gray. He is lost and bewildered most of the time so will have to have him put to sleep.

 More misfortune. The rolling work seat that Ray had sent me some time ago and had proved to be a real help was on the platform on the back of the tractor, jarred off as John was backing out of the garage and he backed over it. Has to make a delivery in Syracuse today and he found on the Internet that there's a place there that sells them. Says he will get me another one. 

 The first thing I planted this spring was some Kentucky Wonder Beans. My grandkids Monica and John Legge had selected and paid for all the garden seeds. Monica said to me one Saturday, "Gramps, the sun isn't too hot and the ground is alright, why don't you get out there and start planting your garden?"

 Well, it was a beautiful day but it was more than a week earlier than I normally would have planted anything that couldn't withstand a light frost. I knew better but I thought they are anxious for me to start so I'll take a chance. I told Monica, "I'm going to have three bean towers at the end of the garden, there's a clump of locust trees that I'll have John cut and trim and put up for bean poles."

 By the way my grandkids are in their early 40s but this is the first time they have ever had anything to do with a garden. I've replanted the beans twice the sweet corn again and the seed potatoes that Pat found for me had a lot of dry rot so a lot of them didn't show. Gerry Shirley who handles potatoes like an old timer. 
You dig potatoes at the end of summer, put them in the cellar, use them all winter. Maybe have to go through them and break off the sprouts, select your seeds in the spring and then when I asked if he had any seed left, he told me to take what was left so I went through and planted where there were none.