I'm a slacker

I just noticed that I haven't posted since May 5. Sorry. Maybe it's a good thing that I haven't had anything to be particularly curmudgeonly about for over a month. That's largely because I haven't been listening to the news as much as usual -- I'm re-listening to the Alera Codex by Jim Butcher, and finding it almost as engrossing as the first time I listened to it. I have a new series by the same author — Dresden Files — that I'm holding in reserve for my 2-week, 2400-mile trip in two weeks to Montana. Two weeks from tonight, I should be in Billings and roll into Lincoln, MT (my brother's cabin) about noon Saturday.

I can't wait to get out of this friggin' humidity. It just keeps raining. Lots and lots of rain. Every time I empty my gauge, it's another inch or more — about every other night. Then, when it gets up to about 90 during the day, it feels like we're living in the tropics. I hate summer. I've long said that the only good things about summer are tomatoes and sweet corn. I have to say, though, that the five bird feeders, two bird baths, and assorted weird bird houses in our yard are finally paying off. We've got tons of bird families around that are endless fun to watch. This bird house, out of an old license plate, was made by Tom's dad (who turns 94 this week) and has been hanging outside our kitchen window for nearly 20 years, has finally attracted a wren family.

We've also got families of downy woodpeckers, mourning doves, robins, and blue jays. We've even got a family of cardinals that have built a nest in my honeysuckle. There's a bunch of baby squirrels running around, and I saw a baby bunny this morning. It's hard to believe that the Solstice is Monday already. I just heard this year's first cicadas this evening, and the lightning bugs are out in force. And, here are a few pictures of recent blooms in my yard (largely for Gary's benefit):

Honeysuckle (where the cardinals have taken up residence): Catalpa tree, where there is a robins' nest:
And clematis, which is one of my personal favorites:
Okay. So, I don't actually hate summer. I just hate being hot and sweaty.