Mid-Summer

July 8, 2026Somehow, though it hardly seems possible, we have arrived and passed the midpoint of the year. We’ve been lucky here so far; the mornings have not been too hot, and breezes have accompanied the warmest mornings. We are wetter than usual, and I have walked in the rain more days than seems “normal.” Is there even a “normal” anymore?The rain has made for some blessedly cool morning walks, and sometimes there’s a giant bird soaring in on the clouds.The wild areas are lush, and the grasses are so high it’s sometimes hard to see the butterflies, dragonflies, and wildflowers. Usually, this time of year they are all dying in the heat. I don’t know if I remember it being this green in July.The little hispid cotton rats like the thick vegetation! Usually, I see them from a distance as they scurry into the brush, but this one let me take his photo!Sunrise has inched back, now ten minutes later than a couple of weeks ago. I can see the colors of first light and last light again, even…