Good afternoon, to all of my friends in the garden! I have been absent from the site for far too long and I wanted to take this opportunity to reach out and let you all know that I am anxious to reconnect. My sweetheart and I were finally married on June 6th, beneath the most beautiful, majestic oak tree, which happens to live in our front yard! In the month or so before the wedding, we were busily readying the yard to reflect the beauty of the occasion. I can't begin to tell you how many flowers we planted, nor how many hours we spent tending to them. We also planted several pounds of grass seed, and babied it's tender shoots, begging them to fill in the shady area beneath the tree in time for the wedding. I can't say that all the flower beds looked exactly as we had envisioned them when we were planting, but I can say without a doubt that the whole thing could not have been any more beautiful! The weather was perfect for the day. It was warm and a little humid, but there was a nice, light breeze. Of course, the birds were singing like I had never heard them before, as if they somehow shared in our joy. I know, corny, huh? I like to tell the story that at the exact moment that we were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Miller, the clouds swirled together in the form of a heart directly overhead. I like to tell the story...but, I'm the only one who remembers it this way! Lol!
Since the wedding, I have been trying to nurse the vegetable garden back to health from the neglect that it suffered for the benefit of our flower beds and lawn. It seems to be on the rebound and, in fact, I am getting ready to "put up a mess of squash." We have put up about 12 quart sized bags of green beans and the plants show no signs of slowing down. So far, the tomatoes and cucumbers have not put out enough for us to do any preserving, but we have been eating well from them and are holding out hope that the next few weeks will have them bouncing back.

I look forward to catching up with my friends on the site, and I know I will be seeking your wise counsel now that I am back in the garden.