I posted this map earlier, but as our community grows, I'm posting it again so all can see where readers are based.

Giant panda at the National Zoo, DC, June 14, 2009

Tomatoes, corn, bamboo, whatever it is you like to eat, we’re finally getting close to that time of year when all growing things are ready for the kitchen. Except in New England, where there’s been nothing but rain this non-summer. Here it is, mid-July, and our corn is about as high as a tall mouse’s eye! (See below)

Surely the sun will return, however, and when it does, we have to hope everything will catch up. We've usually got some corn ready by now. The only good thing is, the lack of sunlight has lengthened the strawberry season.  

I know at least some of you are growing vegetables and maybe fruit this year. Maybe you have chickens or bees. One of you lives on a horse farm, right?

So I was thinking, maybe we should have our own 4-H fair! ! ! How cool is that!

Just send photos of your growing or grooming projects (flora or fauna). We’ll post them and award blue ribbons to the best, maybe even to all! You get to show off the fruits of your labor, so to speak, and we all get to ooh and ahh at what you’ve accomplished.

Email your photos to me at the usual address, or songbird@birdsonawireblog.com. Our fair will be held in August, so you have enough time to get your projects in good shape.

Cornfield in Greenfield MA, July 8, 2009

Another assignment for a coping story has led me to Kathleen Hall, a woman very much "on the verge." Kathleen's eclectic background includes lengthy stays with aboriginal groups, graduate-level study of the world's religions, plus training in stress reduction, biofeedback and healthy eating from the likes of Dean Ornish, Herb Benson and other medical luminaries known for their findings in research related tto human mind/body connections. 

Based in Georgia, Kathleen is a frequent guest on popular television shows, including Larry King Live and Martha Stewart. She's also the founder and CEO of The Stress Institute.

This very busy woman has set up a professional, interactive website to link together people interested in helping themselves and others through mindfulness. You'll find the full site at www.mlntv.com.

Here's how she describes what she's trying to do:

We are a Mindful CommUNITY. At MLN people come together in CommUNITY to learn and live in balance with relationships, health, work, and our planet through Mindfulness. It is Not just a feel-good movement, Mindful Living is a "Wake-Up Call" to a life of sustainability - for people and for our world. It's the one and the only way we'll survive this life and our future.

Don't just imagine what it means to be alive - Experience it yourself on Mindful Living Network.

If you give it a try, please leave a comment here for the rest of us. 

For years, I’ve tried to meditate, and failed.

I get distracted and lose my concentration. Background music doesn’t help, because I listen to it. The sounds of nature work the same way. But finally, after decades of trying , I’ve found the perfect meditation mechanism for me, and it’s swimming.

I do laps and laps and laps, all in easy strokes, like side stroke, back stroke, sometimes breast stroke. I’m in no hurry and have no set number of laps to do each time I go the pool. Our YMCA swimming pool is so small, it’s more like being in an aquarium than a people pool. I can see how a fish would get pretty neurotic running into walls all day! 

After a few laps, I lose track of time. Rhythmic breathing and soothing sounds of water put me in a meditative state, no matter what’s going in my life or in adjoining lanes at the pool. I'm out there! 

I love the feel of the water on my skin. I figure I’m getting a good cardiac workout, pulling a certain number of pounds against the water. The greatest benefit, of course, is that swimming doesn’t put much pressure on my poor arthritic hips, feet or hands. Some have Achilles’ heels; I have Achilles’ wrists. After my swim, I sit in the hot tub for a few minutes right over the jets, if possible. 

What do you do to reach your meditative state? 

Photos taken May 3, 2009, at California Academy of Sciences