The first (rather small in diameter) zinnia opened. I usually just grab 2 or three packs of seeds and sow them without any actual planning. So I’m always surprised by what comes up. This batch is growing much more quickly than the others.  Anyway, zinnias are cheerful and I’m grateful for them.

No sign of Buddy. I’ll share some thoughts about this. I’ve done a lot of research on groundhogs over the years. This year I read that after the babies are born, they remain together as a family unit for a few months. After that, the ‘kids’ leave the unit to establish their own residences. I don’t know how old the babies were that day when we first saw them, but a quick calculation told me they’d leave in July or August. I think they’ve done that. I haven’t seen any of the siblings that hung out here either. Last week, I saw Buddy grabbing a handful of dead, dry leaves in his mouth and hold them there before dropping them again. I’d never seen him do that before. He wasn’t going to eat them, so why? And another time, as I headed back to the house after going to the mailbox, I saw him in the entrance area to the tree, digging a bit. That’s something I hadn’t seen from him before. I wonder if the urges to dig and tunnel that are part of his DNA were emerging. I think so. He was getting ready for something.

I miss him, but I don’t miss having to constantly check in to see what he he might be up to. But I must admit, I loved nothing more than watching him lay on one of the rocks, his front paws over the edge, just watching. And then, he’d shift his gaze to me, standing behind the window. He always knew I was there.

One of the profound pleasures of living on this property is the chance to observe wildlife; we’ve watched foxes, deer, groundhogs, birds, monarch butterflies, bunnies, wild turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, and black bears. How lucky we are!

Well…one good thing: I can finally weed whack some of the areas near the garden bed and funky patio that I purposely kept long so the ‘kids’ had something to eat. It’s clean up time. I cautiously removed two of the blue bin lids that I had employed to make a barrier in my somewhat futile efforts to keep the groundhogs out of the garden. I guess I can take the rest down today.

It’s going to be very hot and humid today. I don’t mind telling you that I’ve been feeling pretty awful this summer between the smoke, the pollen, the humidity, and the rain. There have been very few days in which I caught a break. So rather than act on my initial impulse to mow part of the corral today, I’m going to hold off.

I’m just about to finish Babel (oh, what an excellent novel!) and then I’ll return it to the library and pick up two more books that are waiting for me.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.