Well, the bok choy has burst into cheery yellow flowers. I take this as a sign of bok  joy–but I won’t be getting anything to eat out of it!

On the other hand, the plants my neighbor grew from seed in his basement and generously shared with me are covered with dozens and dozens of teeny tiny tomatoes–I mean teeny.  As in, bring your microscope. 

AND there has been a groundhog sighting!  One of those can hoover up several rows of beans without breaking a sweat.  The other community gardeners are engaged in fervent debate over how to proceed.  Stay tuned…

Mystery # 1:  This summer I’ve been running a writing group with some wonderful writers who just finished third grade.  Last time we each wrote a description of a house and they all turned out to be spooky.  Why is it so much more fun to write about a creepy house than a nice one? 

Mystery#2: I  bring a pencil and paper with me wherever I go.  But who knew that if you have an inspiration while you’re at the pool, a kickboard makes an excellent lap desk? (a dry kickboard, that is)

Mystery # 3: Is it really possible to fry an egg on a sidewalk? (This week I believe the answer is YES)

Mystery #4: Why can’t summer last at least 11 months?

Well, very soon, an updated version of this website! 

In the meantime, a tiny and terrific book by Ann Patchett titled exactly that–what now?   It’s based on a graduation speech she once gave at Sarah Lawrence College, and it’s laced with sweet, funny, pithy nuggets of advice–or at least advice that has worked for her (she’s a very un-pushy person).  Just to share one: “For the most part wisdom comes in chips, not blocks.  You have to be willing to gather them constantly, and from sources you never imagined to be probable.”  Words for a writer, or anyone wanting her life to be a surprising, always unfolding proposition, to take to heart.

In two weeks, I’m having a Skype visit with a library in Strongsville, OH.  Maria, the stellar librarian who invited me, just told me that every single copy of Fox Street that the Cuyahoga County Library owns (we’re talking big library here) is out!  Nothing could make me happier.  I’m imagining my book tucked in a swim bag, lying on a camp bunk bed, getting crawled on by ants at a picnic, staying up late because tomorrow there is NO SCHOOL.  So cool to think that all those library books are out on vacation adventures, too!

As for me, the books in my summer reading pile are getting dangerously close to avalanche stage.  Right now I’m reading Anna Karenina, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Evolution for Dummies (that would be mois).  Coming up are State of Wonder, by my idol Ann Patchett, a re-reading of the exquisite A Swift Pure Cry by Sibbhan Dowd, and the adorable new easy-chapter book Marty McGuire by Kate Messner.   

How about you?  Any recommendations?