
It came without warning. All of a sudden it was the end of June. It was nearly the 4th of July. Dave and I were both off by about a week and had no idea why. This man’s birthday is July 3 and yesterday he said to me, when I asked about a birthday dinner reservation, “What? Is my birthday this weekend??” Why, yes it is!
In the meantime, I’d been working on a risotto post for the blog. Having a fun old time making the risotto, finding the dishes, taking the photos, writing the text and recipe and so on. Except I had nothing for the immediate holiday. Necessity is the mother of disaster sometimes, but hopefully not here. (Watch this space for the risotto love coming up next week or maybe even the week after.)
And since I’m so ill-prepared, I thought it might be cool to do a berry dessert round-up. I was amazed at how many yummy-looking desserts were on the blog and I’m not even including them all. So if you haven’t chosen your dessert for the cookout, here’s your chance to do something new — or save something for the next time you have company. There’s even a grilled cantaloupe recipe for those watching their waists or their sugar intake. You’ll never miss all that sweetness.
Just click on Recipe here, which will take you to the post. Scroll down until you see the recipe; a few will have “Jump to recipe,” but that’s a relatively new concept on my blog. Whatever you do, try one of these:

Blueberry-Peach Crisp

Strawberry-Blueberry Crostata

Blueberry Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches with Strawberry and Chocolate Sauces

Strawberry-Amaretto Ice Cream: Drink Your Dessert!

Blueberry-Strawberry Pie with Lattice Crust

Pie 101: Fresh Strawberry Pie

Strawberry Shortcake

Peach-Blueberry Pie

Grilled Cantaloupe with Goat Cheese, Maple Syrup, and Blueberries
LIFE GOES ON:

above: A few of us in our neighborhood have been letting wild milkweed grow for some years in order to encourage monarch butterflies, who will only lay their eggs on the undersides of milkweed leaves. I’ve watched and watched and just haven’t seen one until this week. Et voila! And not only did I see her, I got a number of photos. Interesting thing, she (?) was just as attracted to very young milkweed plants (no blooms) as she was these great big blossom-laden giants. We fly and learn. Hopefully she has laid eggs — or will be.
below: Our youngest drove down to go to church and brunch with us last Sunday. Cool and rainy here lately. No complaints.

Happy 4th!
Alyce