Hot Time on the Fourth.

7-5-10 SHORT HILLS: We all came down from Vermont to NJ on the 3rd. We dropped Lily off on the Merritt Parkway where Alison and Anna were waiting. Judy and the boys and I got here in time for the heat wave. It’s been in the high 90’s every day.

On the Fourth we went to the town fair and the boys did rides and Eoin did a wall climb. We watched Revolutionary War re-enactors fire a cannon. We grilled for dinner and then did the fireworks at Millburn HS—great show. Today I picked up Pam at EWR. She is here for a visit with the boys and NYC before taking them back to Dublin for a few weeks. We were planning walking trips around the city, but with the temps at 100°, we will do inside stuff. Probably the Met Museum tomorrow.

The plants seem to be enjoying the weather, except for a few dry and droopy shrubs that I watered. I re-set the sprinklers for maximum watering. Viburnum berries are turning red, and so, with any exertion, are we. I did a bit of weeding, cleaned the driveway drain, cleared a few fallen branches and got drenched in the effort.

In bloom: southern magnolia, hydrangeas, lamium, roses, spirea, rhododendron, hosta, rose-of-sharon.


Southern Magnolia, three sets of three petals in creamy white.

Purple Hydrangea.

Blue Hydrangea.