Honeysuckle Berries

July 17, 2018 - Tuesday morning

58 degrees/partly cloudy/windy

Pentoga Road

Boy oh boy, talk about going from summer to fall in the blink of an eye. I'm watching the dark, wispy, clouds racing overhead out of the north and am thinking about changing out of my shorts into jeans before heading outside for the day. With all the hot summer weather we've enjoyed these past six weeks, I've grown delicate. 

Sargie's been known to call me a flower. Is that because she thinks I'm pretty? 

Don't even go there.

My oldest son, Josh, sent me a link yesterday of a piece he's written and published about children and mountain biking activities.

https://orbct.wordpress.com/2018/07/15/5-tips-for-raising-kids-that-love-to-ride/

Already a great father, I think the boy has a real future as a writer, but then his dad could be a bit biased.

A Commander in the US Coast Guard, Josh has always been a mountain bike enthusiast and it makes me proud that he and my daughter-in-law, Megan, are so active with their three munchkins, Ellie, Wyatt, and Cody.

As a side note, Megan's a championship caliber triathlon biker/swimmer/runner and was recently victorious over several hundred other participants in a large race in New England.

Back on a much more mundane Pentoga Road, Monday began with the usual five-mile stroll.

Walking is particularly gratifying this time of the year with the wild flowers in full bloom. Seems everywhere one looks, beauty abounds.

I was stopped dead in my tracks when I found this seemingly magic leaf suspended in mid air.

No trick photography or Photo Shop involved. It's hanging by the thinnest single strand of web, probably from a silk-type worm. 

For a brief moment, I wondered if I'd entered the magic kingdom.

Back home, I headed to the garden to pick blueberries, cucumbers, cauliflower, beans, and beets.




I took some of each to a recently widowed neighbor who is also diabetic. It gives me a good excuse to check on her and catch up on the neighborhood news.



The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house from top to bottom. The temperature was very pleasant, so with Alexa blaring songs from the 70's, I gathered the dust rag and sweeper and swept and swiped the afternoon away. 

Since I was on a roll, I even washed the windows, inside and out, in the living room.

It takes two people to wash the windows really well, but yesterday's cleaning removed the worst of the grime.

Since Sargie wasn't due home until late, I watered the flower boxes and strawberries, something she normally does. 



Sargie's flowers are doing well with the warm weather and rain we've received so far this summer.

I'm excited to see the cantaloupes are growing.



Could this be the year? I'm trying hard not to become overly optimistic, but so far so good. I'm hoping for at least one fresh, juicy, sweet, old-fashioned melon, the kind we enjoyed when I was growing up. That's not too much to ask, is it? My goal is to have cantaloupe juice dripping from my chin in late August or early September.

We'd purchased some decorative lights to fasten to the patio umbrella some time ago. They were on clearance and too good to pass up.



It took almost two hours, but in the end, the lights were installed and more importantly, they worked. No doubt I'll take a nighttime picture to show them off in the near future.

Sargie was home late, but thankfully, she's off today. Due to vacations, this will be her last day away from the Vision Center for a while.

The wiring kit for the boat trailer came in yesterday's mail, so it's time to head outside and begin running wires. It's probably a good thing Mom's not in the vicinity as the air around the trailer might be turning blue before the job is finished. Mom wouldn't hesitate to make me chew on a bar of soap if I become too potty-mouthed.

Speaking of the boat, Bass Mistress Po, commonly referred to as the Crappie Queen, usually kicks her sandals off while we fish and often rests her feet on the side of the boat. Poor thing has complained that the hard surface makes the bottom of her feet hurt. I think I solved that problem last night.



These swim noodles ought to solve Sargie's aching feet. Seems you teach her to fish and give her a pole, she takes a noodle or two. Where's the justice?

It's time to get working on the trailer while I ponder that deep thought.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...