Garden Report: I planted lettuce seeds for a fall crop. I will plant snow pea seeds in a few days. The one volunteer pumpkin is completely orange. There are two more pumpkins getting bigger every day. It’s a challenge mowing. I have to keep moving the vines.
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Stephen Simurda, former local reporter, is back in town. He called and we had a nice reunion. This is the follow up email he sent. “I’m back in Amherst after many years on the other side of the river and a five-year stint in eastern Mass. I have a tidbit for you if you are not aware of it. The outdoor ice cream window at Atkins Farm has reopened and the picnic tables have been put back under the awning (at an appropriate distance). You can almost pretend life is normal again licking a cone and looking at the Holyoke Range. And native Atkins peaches are in too, but not for long.
“No, I’m not a shill for Atkins Farm, but little things like this help a lot in tough times,” he wrote.
I’m glad to hear the ice cream window is open. I didn’t know. I knew about the peaches since I will be making a peach crisp for a friend.
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Another good thing to know about. Jeff Bohne, South Church moderator, sent an email saying the church’s annual summer chicken barbecue is still on. However, it will be different.
“South Church at Amherst will still be holding its chicken barbecue with contactless curbside pickup on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Homemade jams, jellies and pickles will also be available on pickup day. Half of the profits will be donated to the Western Massachusetts Food Bank and the Amherst Survival Center. Reservations for meals must be made before Aug. 18 by calling South Church at 413-253-2977, or send an email to office@amherstsouthchurch.org.”
The barbecue and Amherst Community Band Concert were the splendid way to end the summer. Friends and I went for years. If we sat at a safe distance apart we probably could eat on the common. We could bring a device that plays the “Stars and Stripes Forever” and pretend it’s the same.
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Aug. 18 marks the 100th anniversary of Tennessee ratifying the amendment that gave women the right to vote. The League of Women Voters, of which I am a member, will hold a vehicle parade through various neighborhoods to celebrate the occasion and encourage people to vote.
Everyone is welcome to join us. Meet at 11:45 a.m. at Town Hall. The parade will leave at noon. If there are lots of vehicles, there may be a split to reach more neighborhoods.
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