Opinion

It finally happened. Friday morning I woke up, and was enjoying my morning coffee while on the phone with my first born child. As I entered the kitchen to refill my coffee cup, as one does when listening to their reckless first-born child talk about such things as his desire to join the military’s program that trains you to jump out of planes and such, I glanced out of the kitchen window. And I saw it. A bunny - a cute, fluffy little demon had made it’s way into my raised garden bed and was sitting happily amongst the bok choy.

Dear Julia—

As it goes sometimes, all of the best intentions can fall to the wayside when things get busy. I had been accumulating the necessary items needed to work on a project to accompany my photo exhibit that will go up this fall in the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council gallery, and finally had all of the necessary supplies to work on botanical printing of native plant species found in the public lands that are featured in the photo exhibit. Alas, I had big plans for the weekend to get out in nature and collect some of the plants to work on the project, but, as a volunteer also, I ended up being the one to not have out of town plans for the weekend - thus, the entire weekend was spent volunteering.

I am so thrilled that I found out that the hordes of mosquitoes are cattail mosquitoes and their numbers are at a 5 year high. It makes battling them so much more thrilling. Not. My place looks like an abandoned farm site because I can’t find a repellent that keeps them at bay for long enough to mow the lawn. Don’t tell me to wear long sleeves and long pants. It’s summer time and the temps are in the high 80s. There is only so much suffering I am willing to do for appearances sake. If I am not already busy on a day with a stiff breeze I may tackle the lawn again.

Germany is efficient. France is flirtatious. Canada apologizes for being in your way, even though I don’t know anyone on their way to the North Pole other than Will Steiger. But America? If you want to understand America, skip the textbooks or history lessons. At a distance, just observe the month of July.

He began with frogging. Then jigging. By noon, he said, he’d be hula popping. I kept nodding, as though these were natural things for a man to say while I was drinking my first cup of coffee. Or ever.

Now that my oldest child has resumed his military work after his couple of month leave in Minnesota, and has returned to New York, that of course, means my grandmother has resumed her cookie baking mission.

What a week. We’ve had hot and dry, hot and wet, sunny, rainy, gray and dreary. There’s something in there for everyone, but very little moderation.