Before it got TOO far away, I thought I would tell the story of the Summer Solstice Party at The Hill on the evening of the 20th.

We started at about 19:30 or so, and, had a grand time until about 21:00. There had been storms in the distance, but, it was THEN that a huge cell moved right across the property. We are talking horizontal, torrential rains, 20+ MPH winds, and huge bursts of lightning and thunder. The storm only lasted for about 45 minutes, but, it was an exciting time for the 10 of us. Most everyone else ended up huddled under the second canopy I had set up, and were fairly protected. I was out, in the rain, holding down the windward edge of the first canopy, to ensure that it did not become a huge kite!

Although we missed dessert, everyone agreed it was a great party, and, VERY memorable.

In spite of the huge winds and such, the hives all came through the storm with no problems. Nothing blew over, and, the girls have been out in force this week, enthusiastically working on the cucumber, squash and tomato flowers in the nearby garden. They REALLY like the cucumber flowers!