Already it's Memorial Day Weekend. Summer has officially begun. We anticipate the summer season with enthusiasm and high expectations, knowing we need to get lots of outdoor activities done in the next three months of nice weather. Although fall can be beautiful and sometimes lasts through all of September and October, kids need to be back in school so families aren't able to spend as much time together. Not only that, but here in the north country we are busy laying in our fuel supply (ours is wood) and harvesting vegetables and fruit if we have gardens. With fuel prices up and the resulting higher food prices, I expect people who have the know-how and the space will be planting gardens like never before this year. Some things should already be planted, but we could still get a frost, so one needs to be careful.

Here at our house we are looking forward to mowing the lawn for the first time. I should point out the the "we" is actually me; Fred actually does it and I don't think he's looking forward to it. We don't mow as often or as short as some folks. There's a lot of lawn to take care of here, and some of it is pretty wet, even in the middle of summer. I'm for letting it go back to hayfield and then mow it once in late summer. Or we could get some goats . . . or cows . . .

We went to eat at "Sweet Basil" in Lyndonville last night with Bill and Diane Rossi. It's very nice and we had wonderful food. Take a look, if you're interested: Sweet Basil Cafe and Catering. The food came to the table looking just as nice as the pictures - and we enjoyed everything. We left pleasantly full, but we didn't get by the ice cream stand at the old railroad station - both Fred and Bill are ice cream junkies. Diane and I couldn't pass it up either, but next time I think we'll remember to get mini cones. We ordered small cones, and there must have had a pint of ice cream in each of them. I can't imagine what a large would be like. Way too much cholesterol there!

Have a wonderful, thoughtful Memorial Day celebration. We owe a great deal to those who have served and who are still serving to keep our country safe. You might want to visit this web site - you may be surprised at what you can do to show support for our service men and women. www.anysoldier.com