Summer 26

Weird summer here for sure. Long dry spells interrupted by sometimes days of torrential rainfall. It's been cooler than normal for the most part and I'll take it. 70s beat 90s, mercury down.

Birding has been fair to middling...mostly middling. Our usual haunts offer the usual birds to the point that I have to drag myself out to chase them. Lots of babies though. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks that summer here have brought, I think, 3 kids in to feed at the feeders. They chirp all day and sound EXACTLY like Eastern Bluebirds to the point that they even fool Merlin. They drive me nuts (!) as I cannot for the life of me stop looking for bluebirds. 

We got a new dog in May, from Ayres Shelter, an Aussie I named Marieta, Rita for short. She is a fascinating puzzle...where did she come from? She was found running down the road in Auriesville. What name or names did she have before? She answered to Rita right from day one. What weird or unfortunate things happened to her before? I am sure we will never know the answers to these questions, but we fell in love with her right promptly and put up with the nonsense as part of the deal of having her.

We were able to rent our favorite cabin at Peck's Lake this year and had only 1 1/2 days of less than great weather, although that week it was pretty hot. On my very last cast of the year I caught the biggest fish I have ever hooked in my life. It jumped over a low-hanging fir branch, tangling the line there, and I had a heckin' time getting it landed. What a thrill!

On the downside I took a terrible fall in the camp driveway while walking "my 10". Large, crushed stone makes a lousy landing pad. My face smashed into the ground; why my glasses didn't break I will never know, as they impacted hard and sharp right on a rock, and I hurt stuff. Ribs, wrists, face, soft tissue here and there. Stubborn old fool that I am I elected to tough it out. 20 days later it's mostly down to dull aches and lingering pains. Guess what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Still walking my 10 so...

Not yet, my fine feathered friend
Not yet

The garden has done pretty well. Lots of lettuce, some nice garlic, plenty of herbs to dry. I fear for my tomatoes though. There maybe some blight taking hold out there, or it may be just the uneven watering due to the weird weather. A few of them are getting a little curly on the edges.

Anyhow, it feels more like September than July here and that is fine with me. Hope you are doing well and enjoying the outdoors....

Watch your step!

Happy Father's Day

To these fine dads

and all the rest of you good men out there.

Have a great one! 

Storm

 

Not today!

That was some storm last night.

Nobody got enough sleep to mention....huge rains, hour upon hour, thunder, lightning that made the indoors bright as day.

Pure misery. It lasted all night. The weather radar showed green, accented with orange red and yellow over the entire state and beyond. I read that Pennsylvania had a flurry of tornado activity!

This morning the leftover cloud banks over the Adirondacks looked like an extra set of mountain ranges perched over the real deal and ready to rumble.

Today a brisk cool wind is racing over the ground, shuddering the trees and whipping the grasses. Still more clouds are scudding across the sun, fast and furious, and in a hurry to get somewhere though even they don't know where.

I am over that storm, just plumb over it!

Some Gave All

Touch Grass

 

Rita, out there in the deadly grass

...The mantra of random smug strangers on the internet when they are losing an argument to someone who might actually have experienced the topic under discussion. Or to folks who actually know what they are talking about or something offensive like that.

I think it means something like go outdoors and cool off, get in touch with nature, or maybe just cool your jets and chill.

Or maybe even, "You're wrong and I'm right, and nya, nya, nana poo poo."

Not one to comment on anything but friend's posts on social media, it has only been hurled at me once or twice, and in general I just disengage. I don't know them, and they sure as heck don't know me.

As far as going outdoors, I have dogs. Going outdoors is engraved on their souls. Even before Rita came into our hearts just under three weeks ago, Manipulative Mack required at least six walks a day. He preferred eight. I thank the Lord above that in summer he has a lovely, shaded, outdoor kennel run. There is even grass dangling through the wire mesh if he wants to touch...or being a dog...eat some. 

In three of four seasons encountering grass is inevitable each and every time I walk a dog, fill the bird feeders, or go on a daily birding adventure..

I will let you in on a little secret.... I avoid it like the plague. I mean, heck, I don't want to get the plague...

And it's worse when grass touches me.

I walked a local volunteer maintained nature trail last week. The birding was delightful...even heard a Sora calling from the marsh. However the trail is getting overgrown and I had no choice but to be touched...by tall ferns, taller weeds, and yes, emerging grass. They were hip high in some spots.

And therein lies the rub with the whole thing.

Guess what lives in grass...

Ticks!

That's what touching grass gets you!

Ticks!

When I got back to the car there was a Black-legged Tick, more commonly known around here as a deer tick, on my knee. It was as big as a large apple seed, only with eight legs and deadly bitey parts. It hadn't bitten yet, so there's that.

This is the worst year I have ever experienced or heard of for ticks and tick bites. Poor Rita was covered after her adventures before the kind folks at Ayres Shelter, saved her from life on the highway where she was dumped by some "loving" owner. Even Ralph was bitten for the first time in his life. Touching grass, or letting it touch you, is one of the stupidest things you can do this spring. If you have a lawn, keep it short. Stay the heck out of the shrubbery and if some random knight brings you one, whack him with a herring.

Meanwhile, it would probably deliver nearly the same message if they just said, "Smoke grass." And, no I don't do that either, but at least there are no ticks.

Maybe there is justification for the favorite curmudgeonly saying,
"Get offa my lawn!"