I wasn’t able to get out much to take pictures this July.

First, we had an unusually large volume of visitors. It started with a visit from our younger daughter, who was in NY on business. She wasn’t able to come out and visit, so we went into the city to have lunch with her at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal. Then two old friends came to stay over the weekend. They had both suffered losses in 2015: one the death of a husband, and the other a death of a child. It was great to have them with us. We took them to see a production of “As you like it” at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel. This was followed by a quick visit from one of our sons-in-law (the husband of our younger daughter). He frequently comes to NY on business so we see him quite a lot. After him our older daughter and her family (husband and three grandchildren) came to stay (from Amman, Jordan). The month ended with a visit from one of my wife’s former colleagues and a friend of hers. The weather was bad, but the rain managed to hold out long enough for us to visit nearby Chuang Yen Monastery (above), to sit down on the dock for a while, and to have dessert on the patio.

Second, the weather has (at least from my perspective) been terrible. It was very hot (high 90sF/low 100sF) and extremely humid for some time. This is my least favorite weather. Eventually it cooled down, but then turned stormy. We’ve just had a very wet weekend (6+ inches of rain). Even when there were breaks I didn’t feel like walking around taking pictures.

Third, somewhere along the line I developed a stiff neck (a little painful, but not excessively so); and a painful left foot (probably from being on my feet cleaning the house for 12 hours followed by four hours cooking the next day. Finally, I woke up this morning with a runny nose, sneezes, and a sore throat. My wife has had these symptoms for about a week so I guess I got it from her. Shouldn’t complain though. I can’t remember when I last had a cold.

The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow and remain good for most of the following week. If my cold doesn’t get significantly worse I hope to be able to get out with a camera. I’m looking forward to it.