"Dog Days of Summer!"

Hello, its me again. Never had any doubt that it was me did you? Summer is in full swing, corn in the fields, seems a bit behind schedule, with all the rain we've had this spring, I'm not a farmer but every year I get to enjoy the thrill of farmers and watch the corn grow. As a child I was fascinated by watching my grandfather plant these small seeds, especially corn, in a child's measurement of time it seems like only a few days, presto we're picking sweet corn, perhaps my perspective of time and fast growing may have been influenced by Jack and The Bean Stalk cartoon, never the less I still find planting a garden is a magical illustration of wonderment, with pure eye popping out amazement. I use to plant a garden every year, something I just had to do, I got that from my grandpa, I reckon I use to help him every year, well he may of not thought I was much help, but he loved spending time with me and me him! I would go house to house in my neighborhood, had regular customers, they called me "the tomato boy".

The smell of fresh turned ground, as I place the plants and seeds gives me a special bonding That I still experience till this day, even though I planted two tomato plants this year, I really did not do it for the tomatoes, it was something I just had to do. Actually I wasn't going to plant anything, but I saw a couple tomato plants mixed in with my wife's flowers, they looked so pitiful and pass their prime planting time, I lovingly pick them up and dig their holes, watered them and in just a couple days they looked fantastic. It's the looking at them plants every single day thinking "them suckers are beautiful and growing like a weed!"

My grandfather use to say "the corn should be knee high by fourth of July." This may sound silly but miracles to me are the seeds growing from the fertile dirt and  ....

a tiny sperm mixing with the tiny egg and in nine months a precious little human pops out hollering and bellowing for all it's worth, he has seen the first light and noise of his new world, ain't no wonder them little wee ones belt out their favorite song for years to come, gotta get them lungs at full expansion for all the crying and hollering to come!

Longest day of the year is almost upon us, then fourth of July, "dog days of summer," they call the hottest days of the year. Well know just in case some of you don't rightly recollect ever a hearin' that phrase. Think back, way before air-conditioning was in every house, when it really got hot all the windows of the farm house or poor person's modest house or even the poorest people they all had one thing in common to cool their home. A good stiff breeze to dry away the sweat, all had a front porch, Yes they did! Nary a house no matter the richness nor poorness, they'll have front porches, mother nature's way of living through the "dog days of summer," Oh about the dog, everybody most assuredly had a dog. Think of a coon dog, lazily laying on the porch during the heat of the day, yep there you go. They might have a favorite big ol' shade tree that they have dug to fit their body or get under the porch and snooze thinkin' about when they were a young pup and had plenty of energy, now that the coon dog has seen many a seasons come and go, a lyin' on the front porch on the hottest day of the year is about all he cares to muster up. The old smart coon dog is getting thirsty but he knows his mater hasn't forgotten about him, he'll just lay still and swat the flies with his tail saying all his energy, mustn't over do it, "in the dog days of summer!"