The blueberries are nearing the end of their season, which means it's time to make my stash of blueberry jam for the winter. Last night I stood over a bubbling pot, carefully ladeling a delicious, sweet purple concoction into a dozen jars. The yarn is just a handspun bit of intriguing English Tweed wool/silk roving from Crosspatch Creations via The Bellwether.
	And outside, the sunflowers keep blooming! Every time I think I've witnessed the most perfect sunflower, another one pops up - like big cheerful smiling faces in the garden.

Overheard yesterday morning on a street corner, where two smiling friends appeared to be catching up with one another. The woman says to the man, "It's been a great summer! Breaking my leg was the best thing that could've happened to me."

First I laughed at just how funny this was. And then I marvelled at this woman's attitude and decided that mine was due for a serious adjustment.

And now, some gratuitous outdoor shots that have nothing to do with knitting or yarn...
	I've always loved the look of an old barn with sunflowers in front of it. While the rest of the flowers languished this year, I made sure to prepare a nice little spot where a sunflower bed can (with hopes) flourish for years to come.
	OK, languish is a bit harsh -- the flower beds did well, especially considering the relative degree of neglect they endured. The hollyhocks are done, but the Phlox has just begun.
	Meanwhile, behind the house...
	...acres upon acres of blueberries are ripe for the picking!
	But this sweet little watermelon has quite a way to go. I took pity on this little plant at the Portland Farmer's Market, because our summer was turning out to be cold and damp, and I knew watermelons like heat. Lo and behold, Mother Nature changed her tune for a little while and is allowing this guy to grow into one heck of an amazing plant.

Where did the last month go? I can't believe it's already August.

I recovered my equilibrium from that email. What really got under my bonnet was the suggestion that I was receiving a kickback in exchange for a positive review. I work so hard to keep KR free of commercial bias, resulting in my earning less than I could.

When I read the email, I felt as if my efforts were for naught. My rational mind knows that this is untrue, but we can't always have a grip on our rational minds, now can we? I appreciate all of your thoughtful and extremely helpful feedback about this. Lesson learned: Don't read emails first thing in the morning without having a strong cup of tea and a level head.

To turn my lemons into lemonade, I'm working on a new way to make it clearer to readers that the articles they find in the KR archives may not be totally up to date (hence the concept of archives). The other option is simply removing everything, but who wants that?

For the rest of my life, here 'tis in a nutshell:

• We now have a trail through the muddy muck and swamp to the edge of the pond.
  
• We now have a canoe waiting for us at the edge of Said Trail to whisk us to the other side of the pond where there's a huge rock and deeper water with less muck and where...
  
• I took my first swim in Said Pond and had a truly ecstatic experience. The water is so warm and peaceful and calm and relaxing and nurturing and... and...
  
• My brother and his wife and their two children and his wife's mother and his wife's sister's daughter and my other brother and his girlfriend and my mother came for several weeks to visit, but the second day they were here...
  
• I put out my back yet again and had to close the shop for several days. [Note to self: Time to work on that wellness thing.] Although I'm slowly on the mend, I'm missing...
  
• BLUEBERRY SEASON!!! Our wet winter and wet summer have produced a marvelous harvest of bluberries! And our field is chock full of 'em. I can't walk down to the pond without stopping every five feet to pick up a handful.

There, I think we're up to date now.

Things in the shop are good. I had two marvelous visits with knitterly KR friends in the midst of a seemingly endless supply of day-trippers, weekend-visitors, yachters and schooner passengers, and "summah folk."

In July, Melissa and family took a break from their vacation to drop by my shop for a spell. What a heart-warming treat! We discussed the possibility of my selling some of her beautiful little knitted items. (This reminds me, I owe her an email. I'm sorry Melissa!)

Then Annie came by with her family and pooch! We had a cup of tea, talked about the knitting biz, and she endured an introduction of "Hey! This is the woman who made those bracelets!" every time another customer came into the store. She showed me a positively gorgeous scarf she designed for Pam Allen -- I won't give away any surprises, but suffice it to say you'll want to buy the book.

And now here we are at August 12th. The summer tourist season is in its final stage of hurrah-dom. Next comes "leaf-peeper" season and then... the giant sleep of winter.