SUMMER DAYS

As usual, this summer has certainly been flying by.  Our weather keeps hitting ridiculous records for heat, drought and surprisingly, now we are about to set a record for the most days in August with lows in the fifties.  I consider that natural air conditioning and my windows are wide open to let the cool, refreshing morning air in, because I know, the afternoons will allow the sun to heat our house up like an oven.  Thankfully, the coolness of evening and the late afternoon shade of the trees has kept the indoor temps low enough to keep the artificial air conditioning from kicking on.  I always celebrate our natural air conditioning when I receive our monthly electric bill.

We escaped the Kentucky heat late in July and early in August by heading north.  We vacation each year on an island off the coast of Rockland, Maine.  It's our annual family retreat as all the Libby boys have reestablished the tradition and we have the awesome opportunity of seeing the majority of the Libby clan as we all invade this small island, where their father was born and raised.  During our time there, it seems we are at the ferry landing umpteem times either meeting a Libby and family, or bidding them farewell.  This year was especially enjoyable as we had bid the suffocating heat farewell for the time we were there, and thankfully, Kentucky had cooled off considerably by the time we returned.

Our neighbor was looking after the place while we were gone.  I had hoped we'd have something to harvest from our garden by the time we got back, but things just didn't take so well this year.  Good thing I have generous friends and neighbors who have kept us supplied with tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumbers and tomatoes since we got back .

The Morning Glories I planted to replace my Hollyhocks have covered the trellis Mark placed out front for them.  Unfortunately, however, it's mostly leaves and very few blooms.  I know I need to try using some fertilizer, but just haven't done it as of yet.  I do still have large, colorful Gerbera daisies opening on a regular basis, which I am thankful for. And as much as I hate it, the bluebirds never did come back for a second time with a new birdhouse full of babies.  I think the flycatchers pretty much staked this yard out as their territory.  I have enjoyed the cardinals, indigo buntings, hummingbirds and some occasional oriole sightings.

With cooler evenings we've resumed our time spent in the evening watching for the deer in the pasture across the street and we haven't been disappointed.  It has become a nightly ritual for the mama deer to bring their babies out into the meadow, just like in the Bambi movie.  But instead of hunters scaring them off, we witnessed something really absurd a couple nights ago.  The horses in the pasture, who usually just ignore the presence of the deer, decided to stampede toward the deer as they were making their way down the tree covered hill and into the open.  From what we could see, the deer took the threatening horde of horses as a serious threat and disappeared back into the woods that evening.  Usually, when we hear the thundering hooves of the stampede of three, we just figure they're bored and looking for some attention from the dogs, but this particular night, it  really seemed that they were getting tired of all the deer taking over their space.

We also witnessed some strange behavior from a flock of turkeys a week or so ago.  Mark has cleared a trail around the perimeter of our yard, just inside the dog fence.  It seems the turkeys have used the trail to make their way up and down the hill behind the house.  We watched this unusual turkey parade one afternoon as about a dozen of the birds went up the hill, then decided to do an about face and headed down, then again, went back up.  Eventually the dogs got whiff of what was going on and the parade was over and the participants dispersed over the fence in a matter of seconds.

I hope your summer has been going well.  I can't believe that UK football is just around the corner.  I am hoping for the best this season and preparing for the worst.  It's also going to be interesting how Tim Tebow does with the Jets.  My Sunday School class continues our Beth Moore Bible Study on the Psalms of the Ascent and my church has really taken to our new minister and his wife.  We've had regular almost monthly family gatherings for birthdays and holidays and I especially have enjoyed spending time with my kids and other family  during these special celebrations.  This looks like it's shaping up to be another beautiful day in Central Kentucky, it'll be a great morning to take the doggies for their walk.  You have a great day and stay safe.  luv, Susan