The electrical distribution system has always been a mystery to me, but it is capable of becoming even more mysterious.
It looks to me as if this is going to be a banner year for wasps. I’m no expert, but the population of paper wasps seemed higher the first few warm days than it was any time last year. And this year they seem kind of berserk.
One thing the flatlanders have on us is thunderstorms. Not that we don’t have them, but the hills keep us from enjoying them as much. And as a thing of beauty, a good, big, hot-day thunderstorm is without parallel.
My father died 42 years ago last week. The anniversary gave rise to various emotions — a little sadness, of course, though we’ve had time to get over it — but chiefly I thought about how much he has missed.
Time was, Memorial Day was May 30, and it meant more than sales, cookouts, and “the unofficial beginning of summer.” To some, the old meaning remains.
Some of us are old enough to remember it well. I barely remember it, but it was from a dangerous time anyway.
Just as soon as there’s even a hint that the last freeze has passed, out they come. There are swarms of them. They burrow into the ground. They descend upon plants, especially the biggest and healthiest specimens, until soon only the spindly, weak ones remain.
Out here in the woods, people seldom stop by unannounced. Every so often a logger will knock on the door to ask if it would be okay if he were to cut down my cherry, maple, and walnut trees. It wouldn’t. And sometimes there’s a surprise CARE package, so the mailman or the UPS guy will knock. If I’m not here, he’ll put the package on the back porch, where it’s safe from the elements. But beyond that, unexpected company is rare.
There is a very unpleasant little bug going around. It’s like the flu or the bubonic plague or something. It causes fever, makes breathing a chore, and makes one abnormally stupid. And I’ve got it. Which means that this would be the perfect time to run the “evergreen” column in this space. What is an evergreen column? Well …
Yeow! Why is it that hot coffee defies gravity and manages to escape the spout of the coffee pot and — sometimes actually flowing uphill — find its way onto the hand holding the cup, or the tablecloth, or the early morning bare feet?