Mid July - Already?

I am not sure how it is possible that it is already the middle of July...summer seems to have only gotten started.  Just as it usually seems to, winter jumped right into summer with very little going on this spring, cool temps and a lot of rain were just what the weeds needed to give them a head start on everything else!  Because of the cool temps it delayed the blooming of the lavender (and everything else but the weeds) by a few weeks.  Seems we lost quite a few plants this year - even in our oldest beds.  I am not sure why, that requires further investigation, but for now we are happy that we seem to be winning the war with the weeds, hopefully have a plan of attack for the grasshoppers, who have also returned with a vengeance with the warm weather this summer, and some of the lavender have decided to finally grace us with their presence.  

Also, happy to report that the five new hives that we have up at the ranch seem to be off to a great, albeit late, start.  The queens have lots of brood in the hives and I was finally able to add a few honey supers this past week.  We are hoping that we will actually get a honey crop later this summer - maybe the cool start will help keep the hives stronger - who knows?  Fingers crossed that summer will be kind to all of us.  For now, we work hard while we can and are more than ready to put our feet up at the end of the day!