Sweating Through Summer

Tabor's Yard does not have the awful sweltering heat that other parts of the U.S. seem to be under.  We have our normal hot and humid days.  Most of July was dry with no rain and tulip trees in their trepidation flung brown and yellow leaves to the ground.  Flowering plants bloomed briefly and then wilted feeding our pollinators for just a few days.

Finally, as July moved forward, we got wet weather.  The day started dark and haunting and very warm.  This was the air you could "chew."  This is the air when old people stay indoors.  Then in the distance, the warning thunder began and by nightfall, I could see the lightning strikes across at the end of the bend in the river just glowing quickly.  They competed with the lightning bugs in a fire dance.

The wind shook the drying leaves and then with that familiar pelting sound against the window pane and the skylight, the rains began.  Heavy drops were falling sparsely.  It was as if they did not want to be here, as if Mother Nature had pushed them out the door on their way to school.

By morning the windows were covered in wet humidity and I could not see outside, but I knew we had gotten several inches of rain.  My resident turtle was out and about in the dampness, looking for earthworms, no doubt.

The flowers that had sturdy stems were happy at last.

The Queen Anne's lace blooms prolifically with heavy skirts of white before the wind and rain brought it bending over to the ground.  My phlox keeps most of its petals and then the heavy bees came in and shredded some of those delicate petals in their hunt for sustenance.

Our resident osprey which had fledged two young ones (one later died in a predatory attack) sat on the nest wet and surprised.  Each morning one parent leaves to get food and brings back breakfast.  When I started writing this post, the youngest was days away from flying out on his/her own and getting food, and now, sometimes, I see no one in the nest.  I can hear their high baby-like chirps as I sit inside and the parents instruct the young one on hunting and flying skills in the clear blue sky.

It appears that summer has settled in like a wet fragrant fart and will remain until the end of August or early September.