Beautiful but stunted

Dear Diary,

My Joe Pye Weed is in full bloom and it is beautiful but it is a least 12 inches shorter than it was last year.  The drought has certainly had an effect on everything in the garden this year.  I am not getting much of a show from the phlox either.  They had said we would be getting rain this morning but so far no sign of it.

Emerson and I are just taking it easy this weekend.  After my busy but wonderful time in Boston it is good to just do nothing.  There is an art to doing nothing I think.  The first step is to get over the feeling that you are "wasting" time.  Emerson has no problem with that but after 30+ years of teaching I sometimes think I must be accomplishing something all the time.  I'll get over that and sit on the porch and finish my book, hopefully, while listening to the rain on the roof!