City Views, Country Dreams

Good morning from New York.

Summertime heat arrived in full force during July.  My energy levels dropped as the temperature rose.

I plead this excuse for a long pause in blog posting.  I'll now try to show a small sampling what has been going on during the heat wave.

Berry season arrived and a new bakery opened up in my neighborhood.  It is a tiny place, and offers a small selection of delicious pastries.  Cupcakes do not have starring roles in this bakery.

The trees' leaves reached full growth and deepest green.  Even the small park around the subway station became a place for folks to sit and hope for a breeze.

The nearby newsstand operator added a welcome seasonal ice cream selection.  I have not tried any of this ice cream, but have finally sampled delicious gelato from another neighborhood spot.

The Union Square farmers market reached a seasonal apex.  Each week during July new vegetables and fruit arrived.  I tried to visit the market every week, and sometimes was lucky to meet Elizabeth there.

I would buy fruit and veg, but did not buy and of the lovely flowers.  

The colors amongst all the farmers' displays are very beautiful.  It is so difficult to resist making many purchases.  I try to keep to a budget, but often get carried away.

During many July days the temperatures clung to the upper 90 degrees Farenheit.  With humidity added to the mix, the so-called comfort index was over 100 degrees. 

My existence became a tale of varying environments.  My workplace and the subway trains were severely air conditioned. Sweaters or jackets were required.  The museums and cafes that I visited with friends were pleasantly cool.  The movie theatre at which I saw Woody Allen's newest film, Blue Jasmine, was very comfortable.

 The great outdoors, the subway stations and my little apartment were quite warm.  I would like to praise the help offered to me by the quiet, reliable cooling breezes offered up by my noble Vornado fan.  I drank the more water each day than ever before.  Having cross ventilation from open windows also brought relief.

Relief also seems to have been delivered by the calendar's having moved on to August.  Once again the city is comfortable.  Knitting with wool yarn is much more fun than it was during July.  Strangely, I did quite a lot of knitting during July.

Many thanks to you all for your visits and comments.  Even though I have been a very lazy summertime blogger, I have greatly enjoyed my visits to your posts.   Keeping up with reports of your summertimes has been great fun!