O summer day beside the joyous sea!

According to the Gregorian calendar, July is the seventh month. On the Roman calendar, it was the fifth month and it was called 'Quintilis', meaning 'fifth'. Julius Caesar gave the month 31 days in 46 B.C. Being a dictator he could. Luckily for us he didn't authorize the constant changing of underpants or most of the glory that was Rome may never have been built, due the high laundry bills. The Roman Senate named it 'Julius', in honor of Caesar because - well, he was a dictator.



July is usually the hottest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. July is one of the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. The climate is mild in most of the Southern Hemisphere, with the exception of the COLD Antarctica, and the cold, rainy part of South America.

During July, when there isn't much rain, the grass often loses it's greenness. Some flowers are abundant in July, because they strive on the heat. Also, insects are abundant as well - life is striving in July (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway)!

Independence Day is observed in the United States on July 4. On that day in 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. In France, a similar holiday, Bastille Day, occurs on July 14 (although they did not adopt the Declaration of Independence.) Several other countries celebrate national independence in July. Independence Day is celebrated in Venezuela on July 5; in Argentina, July 9; in Belgium, July 21; and in Peru, July 28.

In my home, July 12th is a national holiday.

July is chock-a-block of celebrations

The Ruby is the gem for July.




The water lily is the flower for the month of July.




Here are some of the causes recognized in July:

Blueberries Month



So now you know where blueberry juice comes from.

National Purposeful Parenting Month



Nothing screaming purposeful parenting like beating your children with wire hangers

July is National Tennis Month.



maybe you don't want to play tennis.

Hitchhiking Month



Remember, if you're on a dark and lonely road during a thunderstorm, pick up that hitchhiker.

July is National Hot Dog Month - National Hot Dog Day is July 23.



Remember don't look too closely into the bit end of your hot dog

Smart Irrigation Month

Wait a minute, maybe they didn't mean this type of irrigation.

National Hyperhidrosis Education Month



For those not in the know, it's excessive sweating.

Peach Month (There seems to be some confusion on whether National Peach Month is in July or August.



So Dammit, dare to eat the peach!!!)


Read An Almanac Month



Which is what I celebrate all the time.


July 1, 1956 -
Columbia Pictures released the classic sci-fi movie, Earth vs The Flying Saucers, featuring special effects by Ray Harryhausen, on this date.



The scene of a "destroyer" blowing up is actually stock footage of sinking of HMS Barham which occurred November 25, 1941. To not upset the British public, the Royal Navy decided to withhold an announcement until much later; however, in late November 1941 a Scottish medium Helen Duncan, during a séance disclosed the sinking. She was eventually tried under the British witchcraft act.


July 1, 1965 -
Paramount Pictures released the film The Sons of Katie Elder, starring John Wayne and Dean Martin on this date.



The hearse featured at the funeral of Katie Elder currently resides in front of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.


Today in History:
Canada celebrates Canada Day (Canadian for "Fourth of July") today.



Hey, when your neighbor has a party, you don't ask why, you pick up a case of Molson's and a couple of rib-eye steaks.


July 1, 1874 -
After many delays and set-backs, the Philadelphia Zoo, the first zoological gardens in the United States opens to the public on the grounds of Solitude, the last estate in the area owned by the Penn family, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It was originally chartered by the Pennsylvania state legislature on March 21, 1859 as the Zoological Society of Philadelphia whose core purpose is to oversee “the purchase and collection of living wild and other animals” and “for the instruction and recreation of the people.”


July 1,1893 -
President Grover Cleveland underwent a secret oral surgery aboard the yacht Oneida for a cancerous growth in his upper palate on this date.



The cancer operation remained a secret until July 1, 1917, when the doctor who performed the operation revealed the story.


July 1, 1912 -
Drama critic Harriet Quimby took a passenger up in her new Blériot monoplane from Boston to fly over Dorchester Bay at the Harvard-Boston Aviation Meet. As she descended for landing, the plane went into a dive and, without seat belts, she and her passenger were thrown out into the shallow water of the bay, where they struck the muddy bottom and were crushed to death.



Quimby was the first American to receive a pilot's license (1911) and was the first woman to solo across the English Channel (1912).

Kids, put on the damn seat belt.

July 1, 1979 -
The Sony Corporation revolutionized the music industry on this date when the first Walkman was sold. The Walkman, the first portable personal audio cassette player, allowed people to take music with them anywhere.



The first sale - a blue-and-silver model (TPS-L2), was made in Japan. 

Bonus points - in the U.S., it was first marketed as the Soundabout.



And so it goes.