The last day of July

It has been quite the summer, and although fascinating, very different. We have had 6 inches over our average rainfall and some of the most powerful hail/lightening storms I've ever seen. Yesterday it was so chilly when I woke up that I built a fire. Strange to be lighting a fire in the living room in July. Usually we are so welcoming of the cool morning that we go out into it and suck it into our pores and hope we can hold that sensation well into the heat of the blistering afternoon...but the heat from the fire was welcome and felt great. Unusual.
It's interesting to notice which plants have made a comeback from all the damage the hail caused, and which have remained just a green stick. Some of the peppers never did sprout any more leaves, but haven't really officially died. Thistles and bindweed have thrived and are bursting with incredible vigor. I did give my tomatoes a shot of Epsom salts to encourage growth, but I have little hope for actual ripe tomatoes by the end of August.
We are planning to build a greenhouse soon, and in that process we think it is best to take out an apple tree that is not doing so well, and this year has no apples what so ever...maybe one at the very top that is battered and small, but really nothing that would feed more than a passing bird landing there for a rest. The thought of taking down any tree twists my heart a bit, I know I have had that tree in my life for the last 14 or 25 years and we are considered friends. The tree experts we had come to look at that tree have said systemic chemical insecticides are the only hope...that doesn't sound like a good idea. The plus side is that apple wood is hard wood and will keep us warm real good in the winter months...and as the poem says, "dying is what the living do"...it is part of the cycle to give it up. We will still have two apple trees that are alive...and two plums and raspberries, and, and and.It might give the garden some more light also. I must remember that it isn't all bad.