What started as the Weekly Zekely has now become This Month in Zeke it seems. Doesn't roll off the tongue quite as nicely but is sure to be packed with 75% more adventure. Long time followers will know how much adventure I pack into a post every week. More pictures and less words will be the formula to make this short enough for 1 blog post. Here goes!

In this edition, we lean into the hazy days of a Canadian summer and all that has on tap.

Monthly Zekely?

Previously, on the Zekely: The garden was in early summer mode, growing and threatening to fill their garden boxes.



This is what a month of hot days peppered by thundershowers looks like in my garden, the lawn a little beat up after recovering from 9 inches of rain in 2 days. I don't wanna steal the thunder from my next #gardenhive postpost but we have had torrential rain, the morning glories are going nuts, and the squash plants have started to climb up into the tree. Summer is for gardening and July is an important month if you are to have a bumper crop of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers!

Summer Stuff

Besides gardening, there sure is plenty of summer stuff going on. One of them is Golf! I have only gotten out twice but I have a couple more booked in the next couple weeks which sounds pretty damn good to me. This round was cool as we enjoyed a light THC drink and a wonderful 18.



Travel and baseball are a couple more great summer activities. I managed to pack them both into one weekend visiting the big city. The Toronto Blue Jays are sellers this trade deadline after a tough season but it is still fun to get into town and catch a major league game live.



One of the best gardeners I know sure is also a lot of fun. Peter has seen his share of decades and is full of stories from each. In the summer, he dedicates his existence primarily to making the garden at http://revival.house July is definitely for mowing when there has been relatively consistent rain and trimming is something Peter does as well.


I can't help myself but to get distracted by the neat native plants around this region. This one is not native but I have seen it in the dog park. Fuller's Teasel is what it is called and I love the spikes and bloom.



I imagine the cosmic math that went into the design of this one. So much going on.



The ring of flowers that popped up this week might just end up in a full head of purple hair. Kinda cool to photograph and explore in the summer.



What is more summer than dressing up in the winterfest swan costume? Probably the fact that it was for a garden tour and must have been 50 Celsius in there! The things I won't do for a photo op and the chance to have a little fun in the community.

Music

Music is waking up in this small town and I love to get myself in the middle of it all. This is C-mac busting out some dance tunes on the patio of https://rajastratford.ca while guests snack on Indian treats and affordable beer. Let's enjoy the outdoors and music!


It has been a while since The Thundering Velvet band played live. They have played this town for decades and been busy while music slept recording a whole new album to be released on vinyl. So, when I heard they were playing on the back patio of a cool restaurant I like, I had to go for sure!



More outdoor music with my buddy D and the {Revival Vinyl Society](https://www.facebook.com/revivalvinylsociety/). This time, the set was held outdoors on the jammed https://revival.house terrace. Pretty much the perfect evening with a huge mix of everyone's record collection played all in one night.



I wasn't done at Revival House as I also had the chance to catch legendary Carole Pope of Rough Trade fame live. I wasn't a huge fan but some of the hits brought me back and having been able to hang out with someone as iconic as this in a small town sure is special.

Besides that, I got to hang with friends and music festival organizers for a phot op promoting a charitable event and starting to build hype for the next festival. Should be an awesome story headed into this year's Onrush Festival and I will bring you the inside scoop.

Beer

Maintaining #beerologist cred, I have to show a little beer adventure. Our brewing operation levelled up this month as we broke in a new 60-liter brewer. We are onto our 4th IPA and it could be the best so far. We are not 1-trick ponies though as this is an Amber that is about to hit the kegs this week. Summer is awesome with beer and even better when you can brew your own right from grains. CHEERS!

Thanks for joining me as we roll into the fat part of a Canadian summer!

How was your July?!