I noticed a day or so ago that we are no longer hearing as many birds sing in the morning. Every year, like clockwork, I am gobsmacked when this happens. Oh, how I miss the cacaphony of melodies and calls. I hear them here and there during the day and I definitely see them, but the time of joyous morning singing only lasts about 3½ months. Then it’s over.

Time speeds by much too quickly these days.

I mowed yesterday and, once again, I took on too much. I mowed both the back forty and the corral – very hilly. Then I came in the house and cried because I hate the fact that I just can’t handle as much mowing in one sitting as I used to. Intellectually, I know this and have known this. But in my heart, I hate it. Most of the time I accept this change and modify my work outside accordingly. But sometimes, like yesterday, I forget. I’m okay now, having talked to Don, who always helps me sort through these things. New schedule: back forty one day, corral on a separate day, lilac side of the front lawn on another day, and front lawn? Always needs to be tag-teamed with Don. If for some reason, Don can’t do it, then I mow it over the course of 2 days. Just like Don did when my hand was injured.

Remember before you comment: I LOVE MOWING. I have no intention of hiring it out, nor can we afford it. It’s a good form of exercise for me (and Don) and we look forward to it. I just have to be realistic about what I can accomplish.

It sure looks nice back there this morning.

Speaking of the back forty – that’s where our mullein plants pop up. We always mow around them starting in early spring because they pop up in the lawn and we want to see them thrive. Here’s one of them:

This one is about 4 feet tall, but I’ve had a few that were taller than me and I’m 5’9″ tall.

I took that photo after I had glimpsed a flash of a butterfly’s wing through the den window which sent me outside in the late afternoon. There she was, dining on the coneflowers on the far side of the house.

What a beauty!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Taken from inside the living room.

These two bunnies hang out here a lot. I love watching them. They’ll suddenly start chasing each other in big circles. They make me laugh. This morning we watched them play again. They eat for a while, then suddenly they’re on the move running here and there. And my favorite: when they jump in the air, all four legs lifting them straight up. Pure joy.

It’s still hot, but the humidity broke in a series of thunderstorms that rolled in on Wednesday afternoon, thank goodness. I’m going to do some mowing this morning – the corral and the back forty. I’ve been too immersed in the political world, so I need to shake it off and do something physical. That always helps. I did yank some weeds yesterday and will do some more of that today.

I posted this on my Blythe feed the other day:

“They had a secret meeting.

After sitting at the bargaining table, it seems they feel they aren’t getting enough photo time.

They want a new contract.”

And then, later:

“The holdouts.”

Thank goodness for this little escape from the real world.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

The Endless Summer hydrangea. It’s never had this many blooms. I got this bush several years ago as part of a blog collaboration with a company. As part of my agreement, I wrote a post about getting it, planting it, etc. But it’s remained on the small side, both in height and the amount of blossoms. This year, it took off, and it’s all due to the massive amounts of rain we’ve had.

Those little blue wildflowers are cornflowers.

They’re so pretty. At the top of the photo, you can see the tiny bug that was flying by.

The heat is awful and relentless. We just stay inside, going a bit crazy. We might get a slight lessening of the temperature for a few days starting tomorrow, but then it’s back on Sunday. We’ve never had so many days of excess heat and humidity this early in the summer. My brain is in a fog, the humidity makes my allergies go haywire. Basically, I feel crappy. This is why I could never live in the south. (Though it sure seems as if I’m living in the south at the moment.)

Our grass is long, but we have air quality warnings so we have to wait to mow. I’m hoping I can grab some time tomorrow morning, Fingers crossed.

We got the new a/c unit early Monday morning because we wanted to install it before it got too hot up in the bedroom. It was a relatively easy install. I took naps throughout the day Monday and had a good night’s rest. We both slept in a bit this morning. And by sleeping in, I mean we slept until 6:15.

He’s back:

He got his hair cut yesterday!

I cannot tell you how much I disliked that long hair. But it had to remain for a few months because the producers of the show he was filming liked it that way. Then, we had to go through the delicate dance in which I don’t mention it because if I do, he’ll think I’m nagging, so I don’t say anything. After a week or two, I casually ask if he’s going to get it cut. Then I shut up again. Last week he had the impulse to get it cut, but Amanda was on vacation. Darn it! – I knew he would think the better of it and the dance would start all over again. The other day, I casually asked if he’d rebooked the appointment. Yes, he said. Tuesday.

But even then, he was back and forth about the whole thing. He likes the idea of longer hair. But the reality is that it makes him look older and it’s hard to control because no matter what he does, it eventually hangs in his face. Anyway, I stayed fairly quiet on the subject and he went through with his appointment and returned home beaming. He loves it. And let’s face it, it’s a heck of a lot cooler in this heat.

I mean, look at that cut! He’s got great hair and I am not ashamed to say I’m jealous of it.

I just finished Griffin Dunne’s memoir; The Friday Afternoon Club. I’ve always been fascinated by the Dunnes. It was a fairly quick read and I really enjoyed it. After I finished it, I pulled his aunt’s, Joan Didion, memoir off my shelves and I’m reading it. It’s about the year in which she lost her husband, John Gregory Dunne, while her daughter was battling for her life. Her daughter eventually passed away far too young. As Griffin’s mother had MS and his sister Dominique was murdered by her boyfriend, the Dunnes have had a great deal of heartache. Dominick Dunne, Griffin’s father, became a passionate chronicler of not only the trial of his daughter’s murderer, but the OJ Simpson trial and others – all written for Vanity Fair. I read everything he wrote.

Joan’s book is The Year of Magical Thinking.

Okay. I need more coffee. We have another heat advisory until 8 pm.

Happy Wednesday.

Stay safe.