Frogs and Ravens

Jawbone

Fuschia

Blackberry

Cicada

Observations - August 22nd

This is the season of crickets. They are everywhere. They were swarming under the lights outside at the drive-up ice cream place. They hopped frantically out of the way the whole time I was mowing the lawn. They are hiding out under the porch singing. They ambush me when I go downstairs to do laundry.

At least they are not earwigs.

Or cicadas, of which there are also many. D. speculates that this may have been a minor "brood year." There are certainly more shells on the trees before, and live ones banging into the windows at night. Yesterday the cat stepped on one in the lawn, to all of our startled alarm.

Things are definitely cooler and drier now. The lawn grass was noticeably dry and almost withered/crunchy when I mowed it. The ground isn't damp. The mornings are even chilly (though to my calibrated-to-summer body, "chilly" means "under 75F.")

What is it with animals and cracks in the pavement? I've seen sparrows and other birds busy at the cracks, and have been wondering what exactly the attraction is. Moisture? Insects? Gravel? Then the other day I saw a squirrel nosing its way along the road. So I'm guessing water is the most likely option, but surely there are better sources available. Maybe they're addicted to car droppings.

I still need more sleep than I'm getting. Cranky, cranky. Grrr.

Observations - August 18th

The summer's not winding down here, exactly, but its grip on things is weaker. Now, instead of unrelentingly hot and humid days, we have a mixture of humid days, rainy days, hot days, and not-so-humid days. (I'd have said "dry" days before my trip out West, but it served to remind me what truly dry summer days are like. These are not those, as my allergies are reminding me.)

I'm even having to water the plants from time to time -- the plants that are left. The beans, pepper, basil and eggplants are still going strong, but the rest are looking tired, if not outright dead. The harvest has been meager; containers aren't that friendly to large, fruit-bearing plants, and I have yet to get the knack of fertilizer. One exception are the red currant tomatoes, which cheerfully produce regular amounts of the little red marbles. One good side effect is that the grass has slowed down, though whether that's due to heat and dryness or the power of the hired lawnmower I'm not sure. We now have a new electric mower (complete with irritating assemble-it-yourself handle) so I guess I'll soon find out.

The insects seem to still be going strong, even though the front maple is now festooned with empty cicada shells. The casings are pale yellow and catch the evening light, like drops of amber. I still find them creepy, though. The mosquitoes or whatever they are have been doing their usual stealth biting thing; one week back and already I have as many new bites as the days I've been home, again in places where no mosquito should be able to reach. *shakes fist and curses*

The birds have been largely absent, with the exception of one that I saw on the sunflower, eyeing the seedheads speculatively. Part of this is no doubt due to my falling down in the feeding department, and part due to the presence of a new visitor. A slender black-and-white cat has been hanging around the house the past few weeks, and has become quite bossy about demanding affection. I've taken to calling her, in a joking way, "Random." If she sees me, she follows me around meowing loudly unless I stop and pet her, or, better, put her on my lap. She doesn't seem hungry, just lonely. It's sort of awkward, given that's she's undoubtedly someone's pet, but she won't go away. A couple of times she even walked into the house uninvited, bold as brass! (What is it with me and black-and-white cats trying to adopt me?) I do hope that she's been fixed!

Me, I'm back on my pre-trip schedule, which means that I start out each week on a relatively even keel and get weirder and more unfocused as the days wear on and the sleep debt mounts up. This morning was a definite low point, with D. and I managing to get into a yell-and-cry argument about, of all things, an ad for an Irish knitting tour. *shakes head* The campus is also lurching into gear, in anticipation of classes resuming, and I'm dealing with my now familiar combination of mixed feelings. On the one hand I miss terribly all the excitement and planning. I miss being in charge of something (anything!) and being the expert of something (anything). On the other, I don't miss all the fussing and all the politics and all the worry about jobs and publishing and syllabus design and whether one's books came in and whatnot.

This has been a tiring summer.

I'm Back

Sorry I dropped off the face of the map, everyone. I overestimated the amount of time and energy and net access I would have during the last few weeks. I was visiting my family in the Pacific Northwest, at the same time that my Japanese in-laws were visiting. Most of whom don't speak English. A third of whom were small children. Tiring! (But fun.)