This summer has already become so full of activities it is hard to get them all scheduled. But at the same time, life in general has slowed to a crawl, especially in the heat of the day.
Oh, I know people are still going to work and still meeting deadlines and quotas. What is not happening so much anymore is the running here for a minute, or there on your break. The heat is on, the skeeters are the size of small birds, and nobody goes outside in the middle of the day unless it just cannot be avoided.
It is also the time of year when the best fruits and vegetables of your garden will ripen. This of course means you spend time outside picking, shucking and shelling. The porch swing under the covered porch or carport is your best friend for these things. The peeling, slicing, dicing, boiling, pickling and cold packing can be done inside, but that also generates heat. So most of us put those chores off until either early in the morning or late in the evening. Even so, and even with air conditioning, it still is a miserably hot job. But we do it because we know we will be thankful for those peas, carrots, and green beans when it comes time to make turkey soup next November!
Even the birds seem to have slowed down. Ours don't bother to fly away when we walk outside anymore. Steve and I can walk right up to the robins that seem to always be able to find bugs of some kind in the cracks in the concrete on the carport, and they just turn their head sideways and look at us. Of course, mockingbirds never fly away, they just squawk at us as if we were trespassing on their carport.
Lightening bugs have also started to appear. However, since the skeeters are so much worse so much earlier this year, I have not spent any evenings outside watching the amorous little critters flash up from the ground in the early evenings as I have done in the past. What are noticeably missing in the mix are the toads. Normally when the bugs start to appear, the toads appear. I have yet to see even one this year. I can't help but think it must be related to the lack of rain.
We do have snakes; as a matter of fact we had to encourage one to find a new home in order to move a wood fern this weekend. When hubby had several dead pine trees cut down, he completely eliminated the shady area in which I had originally planted that fern, and of course we had to move it quickly. The snake, unfortunately, also had to find new digs, forgive the pun.
Another creature that is present in abundance this year is the spider, and yes, we have seen a number of brown recluse spiders in outside areas. This is also unusual, because these spiders are generally not easily seen, being of course reclusive spiders. But I have found them on plant stakes holding up tiny plants out in the middle of the yard, no foliage anywhere near them, just sitting there. I have found them in the bottom of those Off! bug lanterns as I was lighting them. I am guessing the inordinate number of spiders may be related to the lack of toads, but that would just be a guess on my part.
And I suppose I could look up all these things, but it just so happens it is 96 degrees right now, I have been outside running sprinklers, picking veggies and pulling a few weeds, and it being hot and all I think I am just going to say if you know the answers to any of these things, please contact me at the email listed at the end of this column. I am going back to relaxing on my lazy summer afternoon, and I sincerely hope you enjoy yours as well!
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