It's the middle of July already! It is interesting to see how this wet-starting summer compares to other summers, at least from an insect perspective. We have heard very few cicadas this year - usually by now they have been buzzing a lot. I think I have already commented that the fireflies were about a month later than last year. Also, we are now beginning to see more signs of Japanese beetle problems. Last summer's huge outbreak was in full swing by the 4th of July. In our yard, our strawberry and black raspberry "crops" were a bit scant. The lettuce was fine and I think has run its course with the dry, warm weather. We have lots of pumpkin blossoms (we have lots of vines) and at least one baby pumpkin. We are still prepping for our move to Austin, TX, at the end of the month. I am happy to report that we have a renter for the house and we have lined up a place to live in Austin. I am less happy to report that our lawnmower is still very erratic despite a trip to a repair shop.
Our car is now in the shop. In the last couple days the electrical system was acting erratic, so we thought it might be the battery connections or the alternator. Last light I cleaned one of the battery terminals (no small chore - the battery is buried under the air intake and I had to go in through an access panel in a wheel well; I could not even see the other terminal). After jump starting the car I drove around to try to charge the battery. I stopped at McDonalds for a small french fries and the car died in the very-busy drive through. I called Karen as well as Wayne Bosma for help, then pushed the car out of the way while I waited. Someone called while I was figuring out what to do and asked if I had a car for sale (interesting timing). I asked yes and asked them to call back in an hour. They proceeded to chew me out for selling a broken car (turns out they were somewhere behind me in line and saw the "for sale" signs on the car). I informed the caller that I was going to get the car fixed first and thanks a lot for calling me names. Anyway, when we tried to jump start the car again it went sort of crazy. The fan would keep turning on by itself, then the wipers, then the car alarm! And it would not hold a charge (which is how we turned off the alarm). So we got the car towed to a shop and we went home. The fate of the car is totally up in the air right now - all we know is that the battery is completely shot. I'm guessing that maybe the car was upset about being put up for sale - or it had something to do with the full moon.
In other news we have had some nice weather this week - good for biking. Lots of flowers are in bloom. Kickapoo Creek is quieting down and I can actully see partway into the water. We went to a library-sponsored event for supper yesterday at Alpha Park and had fun.
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