The summer passes so fast here that the fear of winter not far away is almost overwhelmed. OK, not try to write a horror novel here. This year is just very cool and wet so far. The temperature never reaches 90'F (33'C) so far and it is the 5th time that ever happens since the record of southeast Wisconsin weather exists. All garden flowers are significantly delayed to grow and bloom. Some flowers such as Cannas or Dahlias might not even get a chance to bloom if the early frost arrives in September.
Worked in the Arab festival on this past weekend as a Red Cross first aid provider again. The whole festival ground was very quiet despite the nice weather. It was sunny with mild breeze and the temperature was around 70'F (20'C). The music and food were good but just not many people there. My nieces and nephews were there and they had a great time to ride the camels. It was just a nice weekend. And as you can see from the picture, they are gearing up to get the festival ground ready for the upcoming Harley-Davidson 105th anniversary big event in 3 weeks. It will be quite a traffic jam again.
Summer almost reaches the end and the weather just stays cool this year. The hardy Hibiscus in the garden is in the peak now. It is covered by almost 20 big white with pink edges 10" diameter flowers everyday. Each flower is the size of an 8-year old kid (measured with my niece's head. :) ) 
It is also the peak season of the fresh strawberry. They are in decent price and look so delicious in the store so I have to buy some. I remember that I still have some frozen cranberries in the freezer so I make this strawberry and cranberry pie with oatmeal/brown sugar streusel on the top of the pie. The sour taste of the cranberry counter balances with the sweetness of the sugar and strawberry. Yum! Have several big trips coming up in the next several weeks so I guess it will be a busy September for me. Just wish that the summer can stay here longer. Really don't want the bitter winter comes back too soon.
