Oh, the delights of summer: Ice cream, swimming, picnics, strawberry, cherry, blueberry, and raspberry picking! Here in the east, our strawberry season has come and gone as have the cherries. But the other soft berry season is peaking. That means if you are going to pick those blueberries and raspberries; you better go soon.

   Most berries freeze well. They should be washed and processed right away or eaten as they perish rather rapidly after being picked. You can process them into jams or can them or put them in pies and freeze. Besure to head out and support your local farms and get the cream of the crop. Come August and September; there will be peaches, pears, and apples to be picked! You can find most of these farms by searching online as many of them have websites or check your local newspapers. Be sure to have an appetite ready because we all 'sample' what we're picking!

What a better way than to get friends and family together for an afternoon or evening of fun by sharing a common interest and love in crafting, particularly, scrapbooking. Show and tell your newest pieces of work, finish works in progress, learn a new technique, work with a new tool; these and the comraderie are the fun when hosting a crop or going to one.

Designing a functional, flexible outdoor space is much like designing an interior room. Develop your outdoor living room plan in a sequence, working from the most general to the most specific features. Commit your design to paper, preferably to scale, and include all elements of your yard, including the pool, deck, patio, landscaping and walkways.