Saturday--

The news readers this morning asked "where is summer?"  The temperature now is just under 60F.  That is well below normal for this time of the year and cool enough that we will enjoy the hot cereal we have cooking for breakfast.  It should be dry enough today and early tomorrow to harvest and dry some of my herbs which are loving the cooler weather.

Update on harvest: cut basil, lime basil, strawberry leaves, Moldavian balm, and chocolate mint.  it is in the dehydrator now.  I will grind them all later after everything is dry.  Thinking about lemon basil, rosemary and lavender tomorrow.  Maybe even take a cutting of hyssop if I have a tray left over.

I didn't expect Tsipras to do this but I think it is a brilliant tactic.  From what I have read Syriza has been on the edge of a knife since it came into office.  On the one hand Greeks were split: they wanted easing of austerity and to stay in the EU.  The bottom line question was what they would choose if they couldn't have both.  Do they want out of the austerity imposed by outsiders badly enough to default and get out of the Union?  The referendum might clarify that. And in the same vein, Syriza itself is split with the hard line anti-austerity wing (and its allies) threatening to bolt which would bring down the government. On the other hand, negotiations require partners willing to actually negotiate and I haven't seen that in the troika, especially not with the IMF.  The Greeks haven't had "partners" in their economic crisis.  They have had tyrants demanding utter submission.