July Celebrates the Great Outdoors

I am jazzed for July! At last we have some great summer weather with sunshine and warm days. The gardens are getting ready for that big push towards harvest. The great outdoors calls us. And me - I'm ready to answer!

July is all about being outside. After all, it's National Grilling Month. My favorite place to get the best grilling tips happens to be Grill It with Bobby Flay. And the Grilling Companion has some great tips and recipes.

Of course, grilling is all about the food. July is also

National Blueberry Month, National Horseradish Month, National Hot Dog Month and National Ice Cream Month. Ok, you can't grill ice cream, but it's a fabulous dessert for afterwards!

Did you know that cultivated, domesticated blueberries were started right here in New Jersey? Just check out the info and Whitesbog Village. Best if read while munching on some fresh blueberries since they are in prime season right now!

To expand on your ice cream palate, you might want to join the Ice Cream Festival in Toms River.

Just think, if you have grilled hot dogs with a horseradish mustard and blueberry ice cream for desert, you've just taken part in five national celebrations!
Make your grillfest in a park at sunset with someone you love, and you've added two more special celebrations - National Recreation and Parks Month and National Share a Sunset with Your Lover Month.

That's why I love July, it's a month filled with flavorful days of note that bring us together and bring it all outside.

Happy Fourth of July!

May you have a wonderful, fun and laugh filled,
Fourth of July weekend.

Let freedom always be the cornerstone to our country.

Time to be on Skeeter Watch

At last the sun arrives! Here in New Jersey we've seen a rather endless stream of rainy, misty, stormy gray days. At last the sun was shining this weekend and it seems everyone went charging out to the gardens and barbecues. And I was right along with them.

As I was straightening and trimming and weeding, I realized that all of this rain has left many things damp and still puddley. There was some water in the bottom of one of the buckets and a few empty flower pots. A small puddle had also formed on the cover of my wood pile. Before I played in the dirt, I had to clean up the water before those pesky mosquitoes had a chance.

You see, in my youth I worked for the Middlesex County Mosquito Commission. It wasn't my favorite job in my life, but it did teach me a lot.

Those annoying summer bugs are fast and furious breeders. Even the smallest driblets of standing water can become their nurseries. To help keep your summer evening mosquito free, take some time to patrol your yard and empty out any area of standing water. Rain barrels, bird baths, dishes under pots can all be breeding grounds. Empty them out as often as possible.

Look for wet spots on the ground where the water is standing. Fill it in with dirt, splash it out, or spray with lemon dish detergent.

Be creative in looking for the watery areas. The more you dry out, the less likely you'll be attacked.

There are lots of products on the market to spray or fumigate, but those can be rather toxic. For me, it's the water hunt to make mosquitoes unhappy to live here.

Now - let the summer roll on!

Pt. Pleasant Jazz Wine and BluesFest this Weekend (we hope)!

Keep your fingers crossed!

The First Point Pleasant Jazz Wine and BluesFest is set for Saturday, June 20th, noon to 9 pm. There's an amazing line up of performers as well as 11 NJ vineyards and crafters and food and fun.

However.....

we all know that the weather is not necessarily supposed to cooperate. There is a raindate of June 21st - the perfect Fathers Day outing!

So - keep those positive thoughts going and one day this weekend, come see us at the Point Pleasant Boro Jazz and BluesFest!

Grab a Your Passport to a Greener Community and Join us at the Barnegat Bay Festival

There are few thing as wonderful as sitting by the bay on a sunny afternoon. Add music, great food, vendors and you've got a party. Include lots of interesting organizations with information about the great Barnegat Bay and how to live greener - and you've got the 12th Annual Barnegat Bay Festival!

Each year this festival has been getting bigger and better. Held at Wannamaker Park in Island Heights, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the bay while browsing through dozens of craft vendors and green organizations. Some of the highlights include:

• The Atlantic City Aquarium Touch Tank
• Native Plant Sale
• Canoe Eco Tours
• Fyke Net Demonstration
• Barlows Flowers - planting tips
• Tuckerton Seaport
• Crafters galore including CELTIC CHAIRDE CREATIONS! Mention this blog post and receive a free lip balm! (1 per person with a purchase of $10 or more. This offer is only good at the Barnegat Bay Festival and cannot be combined with any other offer. It seems only fair that way, don't you think?)

We hope to see you at the Barnegat Bay Festival. Admission is free, so there's no reason not the help make your community a greener place to be.