Well, Robin, HB does have an excuse now.
He's doing some other useful things. Surely helpful to his daughter and grandson. I hope the toad officials didn't get cut down with the grass. Hoping the hurricane doesn't do much damage, preferably none. Is it due there right away?
Squirrel, 4" of rain right now would turn this area upside down--in a good way. Your prolonged bruising sounds awful. I don't suppose there's anything can be done about it but continue to wait and hope it eventually heals. I'm guessing your pulmonary test may have been that very uncomfortable one my mother and sister used to have to take. If so, you've kinda taken a beating today. I hope the meds kick out the pneumonia in a hurry.
Wilde Woman, that sunflower is beautiful. It looks like the ones that grow wild here in huge, thick patches. They are some of my favorites but they also are a considerable nuisance for people who have to use the property where the clusters pop up, such as in the hay lot or in the hunters' camps. The stalks are so thick and tough and they grow up tall so fast, they're hard to mow, even with a tractor and brush hog. Usually they last for most of the summer but the drought and the grasshoppers did a job on many of them this year.
Kat, I'm hoping your bedroom has had time to cool down by now so you can have a more pleasant night of sleep. Maybe by this time next week the floors and baseboards will be done and everything will be nicer than ever. If not next week, soon afterwards. Let's hope it doesn't take as long to get things done there as it does here.
A couple of days ago my niece brought over a mister and hung it under the old water tower next to the scaffolding where I put out birdseed. I've got water pans underneath the water tower. She keeps out fans and misters for her outside animals and they all love it. We expected the raccoons would go for it here but so far they haven't been at all interested in it. But yesterday I saw Earl the Squirrel (or maybe it's Earlene, I don't know) sitting out there on his stomach with legs all spread out, thoroughly enjoying the spray of water hitting him. Later, a mockingbird was perched on the tube getting a good mist in the face. So it hasn't been a complete waste of effort. Not to do with the misters, but this morning I saw a Loggerhead Shrike out next to the scaffolding. First one I'd seen in decades. These black and white birds catch mice, lizards, snakes, etc., and hang them on tree thorns or the barbs of barbed wire fences and eat off them for days. It's handy for them, since almost everything that grows around here has thorns, and there are thousands of miles of barbed wire fences in every direction, literally.
