Good Afternoon,                                                                                 7.19.22

After receiving a few nice, much appreciated rains last week we are back to having clear blue sky, dotted with fluffy white clouds floating lazily along. The temperature is higher again than it was on the cloudy days. It is 86° at 2:45 PM but there is a nice breeze blowing softly from the northwest. All in all, it is a beautiful day. We are in the middle of summer and the roadsides are becoming colorful with wildflowers blooming. My favorite is the blue of the Chicory flowers.

Green beans and cucumbers are plentiful right now. The yellow squash plants are dying. Does anyone know what the cause is that the zucchini and yellow squash plants can be looking a picture of robust health and are producing abundantly one day and the next day they are wilted, and we can’t revive them?

Work on the farm has slowed down. It has been too dry for the grass to grow much for making hay. Have the Orioles gone South already? I don’t see them at the feeders anymore.

Mt. Hope will have the Steam & Engine show on August 4th-6th. The Rainbow of Hope benefit auction is to be on July 22nd & 23rd at Mt. Hope. Ashery Store has their annual Summer Sale on July 21st-23rd. On August 5th there will be a festival for the Wayne Township Fire Department at Dundee Elementary. Food will begin at 5:00 PM featuring BBQ Chicken. In Kidron the MCC will hold a benefit auction on August 5th & 6th.

Here is a recipe for a different way to fix green beans: Green Bean Patties

1-quart canned green beans, drained; ½ cup cracker crumbs; 2 eggs; ½ teaspoon salt; Seasoning of your choice.   Directions: Chop green beans with a potato masher. Add eggs, cracker crumbs and seasonings. Drop by tablespoon in hot buttered frying pan. Fry on both sides and they are ready to serve. A slice of cheese on top makes them even better.  Recipe by Mrs. Allen Byler

In closing I want to share this little poem by Margaret Penner:

Shepherds in the Alps a custom follow,

A custom nigh as old as are their hills,

When evening falls while gathering their flocks

They fill the listening valleys with their trills,

“O hitherto the Lord, the Lord hath led us”.

The shimmering echoes ring from slope to slope,

And far and near the people hear the music

And find their hearts uplifted, given hope.

Thus may our songs at eventide ascend,

The vales around us echo with our praise

So other souls will find themselves transported,

And downcast eyes toward our Father raise.

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