June 21, 2006 marks the day with the most daylight in the Northern Hemisphere. This event marks the beginning of summer and is called the summer solstice.

The summer solstice is one of four holidays provided by Mother Nature and should be treated with respect along with the winter solstice, as well as the vernal and autumnal equinox.

The official time for this wonder of nature is 7:26 a.m. CDT – 1226 UTC.

Along with the arrival of summer sometimes come drought conditions. Some of the Shelby County areas are already facing water restrictions.

Water rights and riparian rights have caused disputes for centuries. A local legal scholar and professor of conservation law says that the next wars are going to be fought over water and I believe him.

Let&8217;s take a look at some of the stupid things one might do to waste good water:

-Do you manually set your lawn irrigation system and check it daily to make sure it&8217;s working properly or are you too lazy?

-Do you flush the toilet when you see a hair floating on the surface of otherwise clean water?

-Do you leave the water running in the lavatory while brushing your teeth or shaving? If so, you too are lazy.

-Do you leave water running while dragging your garden hoses from one place to the next or do you have controllable water shut-off on the female end?

-Do you have leaky garden hoses that water the driveways and street gutters as you water your plants or wash the car?

Think about what you&8217;re doing. The next time you see an irrigation system running too long or during one of our rare rain showers, talk to the owner of the home or business and point out their waste.

If they offer you a condescending remark, e-mail me with your comments about the experience. I want to know.

Let us all be watchdogs this summer.

Speaking of rare rain storms … I saw one up close and personal over a week ago. Yes, I got zapped by lightning. I caught a ground charge from a pair of lightning bolts that hit 70 feet away. Not only do I have sore muscles, the taste of copper in my mouth and short term memory loss, I lost at least three computers along with a lot of other electronic devices and so did my neighbors.

The fun part of this is when my neighbors say, &8220;I heard the lightning hit,&8221; I reply with, &8220;I saw it, heard it, smelled it, felt it and even tasted it.&8221;

I&8217;ll write more about summer storms when my memory comes back.

For more on these and other gardening tips listen to Home Grown Tomatoes Saturday mornings from 6-8 on 101.1 FM, The Source and log on to http://HGTradio.net