I just got done mowing the front yards. I never seem to remember to pick up all the sticks first, so I end up stopping Johnny to do the job right. I don’t really feel like picking up sticks. I just want to mow and be done with it. It’s 8:30 and although still cool, it’s not going to stay that way for long. The haze shimmers in the air and the woods in back of the house are not quite in focus. I think we’re in for storms this afternoon. Okay, let’s just pick up the sticks Lynne and get it over with. First I spy a blue jay feather. I stick it in my pocket to give to the kitties. They love bird feathers. Oh, look, mushrooms! Cool. Wonder what kind they are? I place a stick in the ground so I can find them again since I want to get a photo of them in case they aren’t here by the time Rick returns home. Maybe we can identify them. Plus, I don’t want Johnny to mow over them.

It’s a good thing I am doing this because they are some really large pieces of branches on the ground. Trees, you gotta love ‘em! Wait, what’s this? At first glance it looks like a clod of dirt, but it’s really a bird’s nest that must have blown out of the tree. It’s finely crafted from mud with some twigs [but really mostly mud] and lined with grass and bits of plant material. The back side is completely flat but the front side bows out to form a semi-circle. A cozy home for any little birdlet to grow up in! Hopefully this bird’s crop of kids have already flown the nest or they’ll have to start all over again. Anyone know what kind of bird builds a nest like this?? Let me know if you do!

I find a few more mushrooms that are a kind of puffball. Some are already spent and nothing is left but the shell, weird looking.

When I get back inside and I download the photos, I find this one. I didn’t realize it when I was actually taking the shot, but look closely. Don’t you think it looks like a face? See, the two little mushrooms are the eyes, the big mushroom is the nose and there are slight indentations in the ground that could be slashes of mouth on either side of the “nose.”  What do you see?

So, without the sticks I wouldn’t have seen any of this today. Thank you, sticks! All 52 of you!

I really didn’t want to swim today. I was too lazy. I mowed the lawn, ran errands and the usual. I let the dogs out for a pee around 1:30 p.m. and they didn’t really want to go out since it was hot and humid. Can’t blame them, it was sticky. I went down into the yard with them and walked around. I stuck my hand in the pool. AHH…just like tepid bath water! Maybe I should go for a swim after all. Okay, talked myself into that one! I reel off the solar blanket and do my skim. No froggies today, but lots of the wooly booger things and plenty of spiders of all colors. I let the dogs inside [they can’t wait to get back into the air conditioning] and change into the only swimsuit I currently own. [The other two L. L. Bean suits didn’t work and are currently being exchanged via mail.] Everytime I go into the pool it takes less time to get wet right away. I was all business today, as exercise was my main goal not just cooling off. I completed 10 laps of the length of the pool, plus some “mini” laps as I call them which consist of back and forths in the shallow end from side to side. These I take the side stroke approach to. In between I did my “grandma” float to take a breather. All in all, I’m really pleased with how much I can do now vs one week ago. I am just lovin’ this pool!

We did have some thunderstorms this evening, as predicted, but here they were not severe and we saw more rain than lightening. Good thing, that. We just got the TV back working again! I turned the air conditioning off tonight as it’s cooler out there now after the rain than it is inside. More tomorrow!

It’s time for bed and I was sitting at the computer waiting for whatever problem our website was having to resolve itself so I could post my latest entry and go to bed. I heard the rain falling outside. It just started all of a sudden. I can’t help but be reminded of that wonderful Enya song: Wild Child from “A Day Without Rain.” I stepped out onto the deck and literally let the rain fall down around me. I thought about how lucky and happy I was to be transplanted here in New Jersey. I feel like a plant that’s been uprooted from one pot and plunked down into a different, very comfy pot. I couldn’t be more happy. I feel my roots spreading out, testing the soil, and very much liking what they find.

To quote Enya:

Let the rain fall down
everywhere around you
give into it now
let the day surround you
you don’t need a reason
let the rain go on and on

What a thrill! Our first firefly sighting tonight! I was just thinking a few nights ago that our move here could be deemed perfect if we only had fireflies. I really don’t remember them as a child growing up in the East, or at least they never registered with me. Maybe I took them for granted. Rick and I encountered fireflies when we brought our dog, Indy, back East for some dog shows in Ohio in the mid 90s. We had stopped at a rest stop at night and were completely mesmerized and enchanted by their blinking lights. Since then I have always wanted to live in an area where they have these creatures of wonder. Tonight when Rick got home we sat out on our back deck having a glass of wine. It was about 9:00 p.m. Rick suddenly said, look a firefly! I didn’t believe him, but as I looked up, there it was flashing in amongst the tree tops. So bright! It made my day for sure! As we watched we saw several more sending out their own unique form of Morse code. For me, the message was clear. Welcome.
[Ed. note. Did you know that fireflies are not seen west of a line about mid-Kansas? No one seems to know why.]

Let me just say I am not going to attempt this. I’m sure it wouldn’t be anything at all like Dancing with Wolves. But unless I can capture the frog that has decided our pool is his home today, I won’t be going in for that swim. In my bathrobe this morning, I went down to turn on the pool pump. I saw something that looked strange on top of the solar blanket so I went to check it out. To my surprise it was a frog. Hailey came over to see what I was talking to out there by myself and the frog jumped away. WOW, cool, Hailey thought. I could just see her jumping in to chase it. Daisy came over to see what was going on. Both dogs were going crazy watching this leap-frog activity taking place on the solar blanket. FInally he found the edge of the blanket and KERPLUNK! into the water he went. Ah, poor froggie, I thought as he sunk to the bottom. Things didn’t look too good for him. I went to get my skimmer to fish him out, but when I returned I couldn’t find him anywhere close to where he had gone in. At this point I didn’t want to take the blanket off and figured he was a goner and that I’d skim him out later on when I went for my swim.

A little later I went back outside and there he was sitting on top of the blanket again, in just about the same spot I had found him earlier in the day. So, he wasn’t dead as I had feared; au contraire, he was alive and kicking. I got the skimmer and just as I was about to reach him, KERPLUNK! back into the water he went again. Okay, obviously you like it in there and are in no hurry to get out. Next time, I told him, I’m bringing the camera out. Sure enough, after about a half an hour I went back out there and there he sat. I took a few pics and once again picked up the skimmer. He must have seen the shadow as we went through the whole routine again. KERPLUNK! This time I peeled back the blanket and could see him treading water about two feet down. I tried to get him in the skimmer, but he swam away. This went on for about 15 minutes and he looked like he was getting tired. Hey, buddy, what about me up here? Think I’m not getting tired of your antics? You betcha I am! Come ‘ere you little green monster! I gave up. I guess I’ll just have to wait until I go for a swim to take the cover off and hopefully be able to catch him then without too much “here-we-go-round-the-pool-yet-again” stuff.