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.

Comments

[jo(e)]

Sounds like you are ready for the crisp cold air of fall to revive you ....

[Phantom Scribbler]

Awwwwwwww, {{{{{{{Rana}}}}}}}}

[timna]

got any good plans for fall?
any yarn festivals coming up?

[Rana]

Nothing special in the fall. There are a bunch of projects related to work, and that's about it. Oh, and Thanksgiving with D's family. Other than that, I got nuthin'. :P