HOW WET WAS IT
Here in NorthEast PA, the weatherman said the other day, "Out of the last 90 days, 61 have been rainy..." And the two days that followed were rainy.
I don't really mind the rain as much as the hot mugginess that follows once the summer sun shines through the magnifying misty cloud cover. On the paths in the woods, even if sprinkling rain, the trees serve as our umbrella. But when the dogs get wet, they can feel the benefits of the human's ability to sweat... they remain cool as long as their in the shade once the grass and mist have moistened their fur. Bear capitalizes on that any day by taking his swim. He must have something to swim after, and I'm running out of wood that has been hauled off the dam. Someone in charge must think that someone else is cleaning up that pile of branches. Bear will swim after the branch, but because of the rain, some are still a bit waterlogged, and he'll circle the area where he thinks I threw it, not being able to see enough of the branch above the water. I end up carefully throwing a rock to splash near the barely floating branch.
When we had approached the lake, nostalgia arouse in me, as it now smells a lot like low tide at the ocean. Like those who miss the rather sweet and fertilizing smell of the manure back on the farm where they were raised, I love all smells that remind me of my teen-age summers at Peakes Island in Casco Bay Maine. It's just the rotting leaves both in and around the lake and woods, and, though not a pleasant aroma, isn't a bad smell either.
Tom has become a Wizard when it comes to mowing the grass. Yesterday afternoon the rain had finally evaporated enough so the where it was most needed got mowed... followed about a half hour later by an impressively visible downpour that is, at 1p.m. the next day still needing to dry a bit before the next area of grass gets mowed. I don't see why he doesn't just make a field of it all, and have a farmer come in and cut the grass and plantain for his cows... that is if he could also find a patch of dry time long enough to cut, ted, and bale the stuff.
Plantain is the dastardly weed of the year. We'd apply Round-up if the weather wouldn't foul up our plans and wash it off right away. Last year it was bad also, but I was the only one who cared about the back lawn. This year Tom found a time in which to treat the front, and it does look great. Last year I would lift all the encircling leaves of each plant, pulling up what I could, each time I'd walk over that portion of lawn towards the path in the woods on one of my two walks a day. Like the fishermen used to cut up into pieces to get rid of starfish-robbers of shellfish, the starfish would grow anew from each piece tossed into the sea. I think it was a bit like that in where I pulled up last year's plantain. It now seems as if a circle of the weed grew where I had pulled it last year... much like the dandelion that will grow four plants wherever you pull one. So if we ever get a patch of good weather, we will be killing them with Round-up.
It's not that I'm complaining about the weather... Never seems to do any good anyway. But the weather on my path in the woods itself, doesn't seem to make much difference. It's lush and green as woods can be, with a canopy of leaves that lets little sun through. However, it's rare I see a newt this year. I love those little lizard like salamanders. They act tame, and one can safely pick them up and see a harmless wild thing up close. They are lovely little critters, but I became concerned when I hadn't seen ONE for more than a week. I've seen just a few within the last few days. According to Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collectionwhich I found online, Salamanders and Newts "Some apply the name "salamander" to the fully aquatic and fully terrestrial animals, while applying the name "newt" to those animals that live on land from late summer through winter, entering water to breed in the spring." I figured the poor critter which is born in the water, crawled out to land for a spell, and with all the rain, either lost the ability to breathe in the runoff waters, or got swept back into the brink.
For years I've been trying to get a good picture of a newt. I'll include the picture which is the best I've been able to achieve. I think you'll agree that these are as cute as the Geico Gecko:
Try to enjoy your summer no matter what the weather. Such is life!
Here in NorthEast PA, the weatherman said the other day, "Out of the last 90 days, 61 have been rainy..." And the two days that followed were rainy.
I don't really mind the rain as much as the hot mugginess that follows once the summer sun shines through the magnifying misty cloud cover. On the paths in the woods, even if sprinkling rain, the trees serve as our umbrella. But when the dogs get wet, they can feel the benefits of the human's ability to sweat... they remain cool as long as their in the shade once the grass and mist have moistened their fur. Bear capitalizes on that any day by taking his swim. He must have something to swim after, and I'm running out of wood that has been hauled off the dam. Someone in charge must think that someone else is cleaning up that pile of branches. Bear will swim after the branch, but because of the rain, some are still a bit waterlogged, and he'll circle the area where he thinks I threw it, not being able to see enough of the branch above the water. I end up carefully throwing a rock to splash near the barely floating branch.
When we had approached the lake, nostalgia arouse in me, as it now smells a lot like low tide at the ocean. Like those who miss the rather sweet and fertilizing smell of the manure back on the farm where they were raised, I love all smells that remind me of my teen-age summers at Peakes Island in Casco Bay Maine. It's just the rotting leaves both in and around the lake and woods, and, though not a pleasant aroma, isn't a bad smell either.
Tom has become a Wizard when it comes to mowing the grass. Yesterday afternoon the rain had finally evaporated enough so the where it was most needed got mowed... followed about a half hour later by an impressively visible downpour that is, at 1p.m. the next day still needing to dry a bit before the next area of grass gets mowed. I don't see why he doesn't just make a field of it all, and have a farmer come in and cut the grass and plantain for his cows... that is if he could also find a patch of dry time long enough to cut, ted, and bale the stuff.
Plantain is the dastardly weed of the year. We'd apply Round-up if the weather wouldn't foul up our plans and wash it off right away. Last year it was bad also, but I was the only one who cared about the back lawn. This year Tom found a time in which to treat the front, and it does look great. Last year I would lift all the encircling leaves of each plant, pulling up what I could, each time I'd walk over that portion of lawn towards the path in the woods on one of my two walks a day. Like the fishermen used to cut up into pieces to get rid of starfish-robbers of shellfish, the starfish would grow anew from each piece tossed into the sea. I think it was a bit like that in where I pulled up last year's plantain. It now seems as if a circle of the weed grew where I had pulled it last year... much like the dandelion that will grow four plants wherever you pull one. So if we ever get a patch of good weather, we will be killing them with Round-up.
It's not that I'm complaining about the weather... Never seems to do any good anyway. But the weather on my path in the woods itself, doesn't seem to make much difference. It's lush and green as woods can be, with a canopy of leaves that lets little sun through. However, it's rare I see a newt this year. I love those little lizard like salamanders. They act tame, and one can safely pick them up and see a harmless wild thing up close. They are lovely little critters, but I became concerned when I hadn't seen ONE for more than a week. I've seen just a few within the last few days. According to Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collectionwhich I found online, Salamanders and Newts "Some apply the name "salamander" to the fully aquatic and fully terrestrial animals, while applying the name "newt" to those animals that live on land from late summer through winter, entering water to breed in the spring." I figured the poor critter which is born in the water, crawled out to land for a spell, and with all the rain, either lost the ability to breathe in the runoff waters, or got swept back into the brink.
For years I've been trying to get a good picture of a newt. I'll include the picture which is the best I've been able to achieve. I think you'll agree that these are as cute as the Geico Gecko:
Try to enjoy your summer no matter what the weather. Such is life!
posted by Cranberry Jo @ 7/01/2009 12:52:00 PM
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