We had our last Mass here in St. Sylvia's Church on Sunday.  I was amazed when I drove up, not only was my usual parking spot gone, the whole lot was full, and cars lined both sides of the street.  I found a parking spot and hurried in to see what was going on.  The church was packed, mostly with people I never saw before, but the usual 20 of my fellow regular churchgoers were found among the crowd. There was an organist, and a woman  that would later sing Ave Maria and my favorite where the chorus is Oh Maria, and Salve, salve, salve Regina.  The two usual priests were on the altar, but there was an altar boy and the priest from St. Christopher's, which will be our new parish.

I did get to sit in my usual pew, but I shared with it three other people, all strangers.  Our priest talked on and on, giving the whole history of the church, quoted all the words from Camelot, and then the song the Von Trapp girls sang - "So long, goodbye, auf vedeshein", got in a few digs about "All things news" and  prayed that this beautiful church would not become another restaurant or bistro.

We ended with everyone singing from a handout sheet, "Auld Lang Syne" and I saw more than one person pull out a handkerchief.  So that's that - that beautiful church modeled after a French one, donated by a local wealthy family, whose son was cured at Lourdes, which served all the poor Irish immigrants, working on the railroad, all those baptisms, marriages, First Communions, funerals, all those memories will never happen again.  Sad day for Tivoli, sad day for the Catholic Church.

The turkeys are back, so I thought I would come back too.  Two mothers, one with two small babies, one with seven larger babies.  Today I saw one mother climb onto a high stump and watched as the babies tried to get up, half jumping and half flying.  This must be how they learn to fly.  No nest in a tree to push them out of. 

The Farmer's Almanac has a turkey story for July.  I love the Almanac, full of interesting information,  unlike the internet, there is no need to search, it's just there.  For example, July has two full moons, the first yesterday was the "full buck" moon, on the 31st, it will be the "full thunder" moon, a blue moon. This happens every 2 1/2 tears on an average (another tidbit from the almanac).  July loses19 minutes of daylight from the beginning to the end and in 2005 Jake the dog swam in annual 1.25 mile race from Alcatraz to San Francisco.

Bucky always said "after the fourth of July, the summer is over", a saying that would bring disgust, school just was out, how could it be over?  Yet, time has proven her right again, the summer will fly, like the baby turkeys, and we will be back in reality.