The Bickersons

Nutmeg, on the left, and Jeffrey, are 4 and 5, respectively and have been paired for several years. As time has gone by, they have developed patterns of sharing their lives similar to many couples. Nutmeg is pretty much the boss of everything, and Jeffrey seems quite happy with that. Apparently Nutmeg is an excellent groomer and that must make up for her rather dominant personality. Every morning, the rabbits get a bite of banana. Although we've been told that variety is best, bananas are what they want. We've tried strawberries and apples, but Jeffrey hops up in anticipation, sniffs, and leaves rather dejectedly. They also get a scoop of rabbit pellets following the banana. Nutmeg always wins a banana war, but Jeffrey has learned to hold his own for the pellets. He, who is generally docile, can make some serious grunting, snorting noises if Nutmeg tries to get in the way of his first few bites. She snorts and charges him for the bananas and he gives it right back for the pellets, every single day. And, like many long married couples (several years is long in the grand scheme of a rabbit's life, if you think about it), they always get past the bickering and quickly settle in to share, side by side, at the pellet dish.

Wedding Preparations

We are busy making all the preparations for Heidi and Ashley's upcoming September wedding. This past weekend most of the bridesmaids went together for their dress fittings. Tara, Rachel, Autumn, Holly and Sierra all crowded into the corner we were given and dresses of various colors- none of them the actual wedding colors- were brought forth for trying on. In addition to brown green and blue, we had boat neck and halter and strapless selections. Given that there was only one of each size and neck style, the girls did a lot of trading and modeling the dress for all of us to give our opinions on which style suited each girl. Sierra, the flower girl, was in heaven in her white dress and stood looking at herself in the mirror while all the others were trying to decide which dress they liked the best. Tara, Heidi's long time friend and maid of honor, is pregnant and spent a lot of time with a jacket stuffed "strategically" so she could get an idea what the dress would look like in a couple of months. It was great fun.

Summer

It is hot.
I'm talking sweat
-as-soon-as-you-walk-out-the door hot. We in Ohio only understand the concept of "dry heat" in the same way you would understand anything you read out of a text book. That is to say, we have wet heat that the weather folk refer to as humidity. Personally I think that word is too poetic for the feeling that you have been sealed in plastic wrap when you go outside. I prefer the word humuggity- from which we derive the word muggy. I don't know if muggy is a word that a people who have lived all their lives in, say, Phoenix, would know. Here, it's part of the forecast, as in "Today it's going to be hot and muggy."
We humans spend our days either in air conditioning- if we're lucky- or somewhere near water. My animal buddies just have to weather it out, so to speak. Yesterday evening I saw a little sparrow sitting on the fence panting. I wanted to invite him in to the AC but I guess he's better off with the heat than with 6 cats. It seems that the flowers LOVE this weather, as they are in full bloom and very lovely. I enjoy more than I can say wandering around the garden just admiring the colors.

A beautiful garden

We have a special garden in the side yard all planted with orange and yellow flowers as a living tribute to our little orange tabby. Jessie has blanket flowers, yellow lantana, orange daisies with blue centers and big bright orange and yellow shasta daisies. We maintain a strict "no weeds" policy; this little garden is watered and petted over and loved. It brings me comfort to know that Jessie "was" at this time last year, even if only a little fetal kitten.

Blader chick

It was a glorious summer afternoon to enjoy. James, Leah and I headed to the park on our preferred wheels. Wildflowers were in full bloom and the sky was blue blue blue. When we were finished I decided to capture the perfect day- and my stylin' doo for posterity.

Winter is just around the corner...

July is almost half over. I know if I went back and looked at every day that has passed, it would seem right that it should be mid-summer. But just tonight, thinking about the day I took this picture last winter, all I can think of is that it is going to be Christmas again before I can blink.
Tonight, this yard is green. The buckeye tree is in full leaf and flowers grow where in this picture, the earth rested.
As I sit, on July 11 at 9:16PM, the AC is on and we're watching the Tour de France. Each of us (Jim, Leah and I) are wearing shorts and t-shirts. The fireplace is dark, but the sky is still light. I walk the dogs in the early morning or after 7PM so they don't get too hot in their black fur coats. The days pass, each one a bit shorter than the last. Yet, summer is in her glory. The pools are filled with kids who are young enough to think summer is a long, fun time. Winter is, to them, a distant memory.