I love my garden. There are not many things better than coming home from a good day at work, taking off my shoes and walking through the grass to see what's grown overnight. Depending upon the time of year, I'm either finding what's sprouting or what's ripe.

This daily ritual is my 'yoga.' I breathe deep, become more conscious of my surroundings and I commune with nature. Lately, it's gone out the window. Or better yet, I check out my garden from my window. It's just too darned hot; I'd rather stay inside with central air conditioning.

When I do make my quicker than usual dash out to the vegetable garden, I'm finding quite a load of peppers and of course zucchini. The like the hot. I check the soil for moisture – that's OK thanks to my sprinkler. And I'm lucky and have not been attacked by Japanese Beetles.

A quick dash over to refill the bird bath (the beads of sweat are forming on my brow). Yank a couple of weeds and I'm out.
Now I sit in a chair next to the window gazing at my shade garden hoping for rain. Sad, sad ferns. I know they'll be OK - you can't really kill ferns.

I breathe calmly in the cool 75 degrees of my living room. Maybe August will allow me more time to wiggle my toes in the lawn.