Wait, what's the date??

Just like that, over 1/3rd of July is already gone. Isn't that CRAZY? This year just gets faster and faster. There's been no time to breathe at all. I've been working partly from home and partly going into the office, where I'm isolated on a floor by myself at all times. I now always wear a mask if I have to go anywhere on the university campus where I work and, naturally, I wash my hands until there is no skin left on them.

The isolation can get lonely on that floor, so I've changed up my routine a bit. I hung a happy strand of brilliantly-bright lights, and I play our local radio station, where every now and then, you hear the odd, old, best song ever. I have favorite snacks around me, a fridge and a microwave all to myself, and, of course, my own executive bathroom by default, ha ha! (I'm not an executive at all, so, I assure you, that was funny!).

It was cloudy and soft and balmy on Friday, and we needed some rain. Pumpkin patches need rain. Our tomatoes are currently water-logged due to too much rain a while back, so it was a catch-22 wish for rain. I love an afternoon summer storm, as long as it doesn't get crazy violent. What is it about an afternoon summer storm that makes us feel so alive? I don't get it, but it does. I can go stand on the porch right before one starts and, I swear, it just makes me feel like I'm being pulled into something supernatural. I can feel the power of the earth as it revs up to rain down on us. 

Anyway, we got the storm, and it was a tiny bit hairy. Lots of wind, some of the giant zinnias got pushed over, and when I went out later in the afternoon on a quick errand, there was a lot of debris across the roads.Silver lining was quite a heavydown pour and a bonus second downpour that lasted for a while about three hours later. 

We are heating up now. Summer has finally set in, which, ironically, means lots of pictures of autumn harvest items such as pumpkins and butternut squash. We are blessed to still be in the 60s in the mornings. Currently, it's 64 degrees and feels wonderful. We are settling into our summer pattern of high heat and afternoon storms (or all day storms, if Mother Nature decides that way). By the way, if you live in one of those states where your heat is outrageous - like regularly in the 90s and 100s - you're probably laughing at me calling "high heat" 87 degrees. That's okay; I don't know how you do it! You deserve a medal for surviving those kinds of summers!

So, this year, we're growing Baby Butternut Squash. That's a thing! We usually grow the bigger ones. They taste wonderful, but they take forever to get to the point where they can be harvested and eaten. In addition, they are very hard to cut up. This year, we are trying the baby squash instead. I wanted to clarify that because the picture here shows you a baby Baby Butternut Squash. Get it? So now you know, and when I refer later to a mature Baby Butternut Squash, hopefully, it'll be less confusing (or not?).

So this is a pumpkin hill where, just around two days ago, it was simply a few large leaves growing upwards. Now, those leaves are starting to angle down as the plants begin to vine. There are ten of these hills. Eventually, any pattern of planting or arrangement will go away, and they'll meld into one giant vining mess. 

Pumpkins have large, yellow flowers like most squash. If they do well, the bees will have a field day. Morning hours are particularly spectacular. A morning visit to the pumpkin patch results in quite the choral performance from the bees busy at work and humming away. Also present are large, velvety bumblebees and monarchs and butterflies in all colors. If you are wearing a shirt in certain colors, sometimes, a monarch or butterfly will take a liking to your shirt and hover round you and follow you from garden to garden. I have a pink running shirt. One time, I had a monarch follow alongside me for the run for nearly a quarter of a mile. ❤

Look at mama! Bunny is very naughty these days, wanting to go outside and explore and wander a bit farther than we are comfortable with. She knows that her babies are safe and healthy and finally thriving, so she wants some time for herself. No, no, no. I explained to her that, just because she's healed up nicely from her spay doesn't give her permission to give us heart failure by wandering too far.

Today's weather looks interesting. Humid morning, followed by afternoon thunderstorms. We finally have some decent tomatoes rolling in from the garden. Not a lot, just enough to get a tad excited about. Normally, I would say that anything tomato is on tap for today. But in light of the storms, I may gravitate to popcorn and Dr. Pepper in the afternoon with a good, scary movie. It's hard to find a couple hours of downtime, but maybe I can today. We also have a giant, iced cinnamon roll and two huge glazed donuts. I feel confident those will make their way into today's food forecast!

It's hard to believe that in ten days, we will be just two months away from Autumn. We have all that summer heat to get through, but it'll go fast, mark my words. Nathaniel Hawthorne - "Time flies over us but leaves its shadow behind." One of the truest statements ever made. When we are tired of summer, it will become Autumn and grow cold. On that first truly cold day of Autumn, we'll look back on the shadow of summer and wish to be warm to the bones just one more time, knowing that won't happen until we get past the first part of spring in the new year - which will feel miles and miles away. Enjoy your days as much as possible. 

If nothing else, mark each day with something that brings you some kind of joy or at least quiet contentment. You don't have to go out of your way to do this, but if you focus on the nuances of each day just a bit more than usual, you may surprise yourself at what you find throughout your days that bring you just the tiniest bit of pleasure, and you didn't even realize it! You can build on that over time to create some really beautiful days here and there, days that create shadows in time to look back on and re-live just one more time.