July started with visits by the Snowbirds, a former work colleague (on an epic 6 week cross-Canada RV trip with family and dog) and cousin from Victoria and some lovely rain. The rest of the month has been sunny, hot and dry with last week in the high 30s and setting new records.

Garden doing well with lettuce, manche, peas, potatoes, eggplant, shiso and raspberries in abundance and garlic, carrots, edamame, peppers and cucumbers to come. Busy making jams, coulis and pies from the raspberries and local saskatoons on the property and from the neighbor’s blueberries and cherries. Great year for poppies and lavender.

Enjoyed a few days at Sun Peaks (ski/golf village owned by Nippon Cable), outdoor Shakespeare at a winery and several dinners with friends, including some excellent Italian tripe with our neighbor.

Finished splitting enough firewood for two years, cut logs and kindling to dry for a year, and spent several days cutting and removing dead branches for eventual mulching. Deck for the hot tub is progressing and will be finished in another week or so. It runs between the tub and a raw stone wall. Discovered that the 24hr circulation/filtering pump shuts down when the water temperature rises 2 degrees above the setting , which has been happening frequently this past week. They call it a hot tub for a reason.