Today begins the second week of summer (as defined in our house, which means it starts the moment grades are submitted). And the second week of my new dissertation-free identity. A rhythm is beginning to emerge.
Some highlights from the first week:
Peonies-in-waiting, which will go into the ground as soon as the rain stops and
the soil dries out. Six big holes have been dug, compost is stacked
up. Yes, I know, I normally wouldn't plant them while they're
flowering, but this is when they're available and it's when we're
available. So in they go.
This little creature
was just 1.5 inches long. How did it get into the puddle in our tarp?
Is the lawn soggy enough to support amphibious eggs? Or is 72 hours of
rain enough to generate evolution from microbe to baby salamander? New
vocabulary words:
skink and
vernal pool.
Every week I figure out a couple more of the plant species along the wooded edges of our yard. Mostly this happens when something suddenly blooms! I've been wondering about this tree all year -- with the weathered knarled branches, I was kind of hoping for a crabapple, but it turns out it's a viburnum called nonnyberry.
