JULY

“Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.” – Ausonius

July is named after Julius Caesar. This name was given to the month after Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, in order to honour the killed leader. Before that time, the month was called Quintilius meaning the fifth month (Martius being the first month in the old Roman calendar). It is of significance that this month had 31 days, because anything less would not have been good enough for honouring the dead Caesar! In Anglo-Saxon the month is called Litha, meaning the month of the Midsummer Moon. In Gaelic it is Am Mios buidhe, the yellow month. In Welsh, July is termed Gorfennaf, meaning the “Month of Completion”.

Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.

In Australia of course, July is the midwinter month, equivalent to the Northern hemisphere January. July 1st is also the beginning of our financial year and I ma immersed in the budgeting process for this financial year, at work!

The birthstone for July is the ruby. The name of the gem is derived from the Latin rubeus, meaning red. The best rubies are said to be of a dark red colour identical to the colour of pigeons’ blood. Natural, large red rubies are the most expensive of gems. It is an aluminium oxide, a variety of corundum. India and other Eastern countries such as Burma are associated with the mining of beautiful natural stones. Nowadays, however, synthetic rubies abound and it may be difficult for a non-expert to tell a natural from a synthetic gem. The water lily symbolises July.

Lorsque vole bas l’aronde
attends alors que la pluie tombe
(When the swallow flies low
wait soon for the rain to fall)
French weather rhyme

Juillet sans orage
famine au village
(July without storm
famine in the village)
French weather rhyme

Gather up the wheat and tie it
Thresh it, bundle it up and mill it
To your health this good cup
Give a piece of bread to me to sup.
Greek folk rhyme

Today is Canada Day, so best wishes to my Canadian friends. Canada is the world’s second largest country with an area of close to 10 million square km and a population of just over 33 million people. It was created in 1867 by the British North American Act. It comprises the great barren Arctic Ocean islands in the North, through the huge grasslands in the central South and the Rocky Mountain chain in the West to fertile farmlands in the East close to the great lakes. Mineral resources, oil, gas, timber, extensive farming have contributed to Canada’s economic success, but the majority of the country remains greatly unexploited. The capital city is Ottawa and other cities include: Montréal, Québec, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg and Halifax.