happy birthday, america

atl bot gdn with mary and robt was a great way to spend this fairly dispiriting fourth of july --- thursday is their usual cocktails in the garden night, and they went on with it tonight, in spite of the holiday --- very sparsely attended, which was excellent for us --- for the first time, i think, i spent a few minutes after dark by myself with the frogs peeping in the conservatory

all warm and sweaty at the end, but very nice indeed