Still hot here, highs over 100, lows of 80. Our friend the raccoon visited again last week, but this time he/she stayed until dark. It came up to the bird bath, sipped a little water, and then climbed the oak tree right beside the bath and settled down into the tree where a natural nest exists. For the rest of the afternoon, we would look out and see a foot stretched out, a tail dangling down, and sometimes two feet and a paw.

It has been so hot and dry that even some of the trees that are natives are struggling. Singed leaves, droopy leaves, brittle leaves, all of them fighting the dry heat. Smells like a dessert here, hot dry dirt baking in the sun.

I went off on a job interview last week (still waiting on news) and saw the big combines out harvesting. There was a lot of sorghum planted, at least along the road. I even saw a real John Deere boogying along the road moving from one field to the next. I say real as many of the tractors around here are the tiny acreage types. This was one of the big, newer tracked tractors pulling a big big disc.

I am off this morning to write a practice test for the teaching test. I know I won't pass this version (no way I have memorized all the formulae and such), but it will, hopefully, give me some areas to focus my studies on so I can write the real exam in the fall.

The full weight of summer has descended upon us. I would like to complain, but summer is summer and I have become accustomed to the heat.

A raccoon came and drank out of our bird bath last night. The poor critter looked rather ragged and hot. It must be rather miserable to have to slink around in a heavy fur coat all day long. Birds and squirrels come and go all day long muddying what water remains in the bath by lunch time. I usually go out and add water around that time, and then again after supper.

I water the tomatoes every morning and by the afternoon they are all wilty and sad looking. There is no way to keep the soil moist enough at the moment. We had a decent tomato harvest even if they are suffering from the heat now.

Everything else has normalized now. I am studying for the teachers test and getting ready to return to school. It is amazing how much I remember from way back when.

Working the bookstore again. It was warm today, the last I heard it was 103.

I took C to Hot Springs Friday and came home yesterday. I am still a little tired from the trip, guess I don't travel as well as I once did.

I am stirring this using a cheap smart phone, so please forgive the errors.

Not sure if our plants will survive the heat. Every time I look outside they appear wilted and stressed.

Here is a photo of our garden this morning. Looks a lot more lush than I expected given it is mid June in Texas!

We did not make the trip east to see C's parents. Her mom fell Friday night and was not feeling well enough to have visitors come stay the night so we stayed home.

A nice morning shower is passing through carrying with it lots of lightning, thunder, and a wee bit of rain. We have been getting regular showers lately, which is mostly good. The bad part is that the lawn (broadly speaking) needs far to much mowing. Theoretically, I should be out there today chopping it back, but given the rain and a lack of desire I will leave it until Monday at the earliest.

We leave for Arkansas tomorrow morning to celebrate father's day and carol's fathers birthday which was a couple of weeks past. It is going to be a quick trip, up one day back the next.

The garden is doing great. The grape tomatoes are producing in huge quantities, the cherry tomatoes are about to produce a wee bit, and the regular tomatoes are about to go all ripe and red. Some okra is appearing, and the green beans have about petered out in the heat.

Summer has settled in nicely down here. Even on cloudy and rainy days we get highs in the 90's.

Carol is in Seattle until Thursday morning. She will be gone for a week, and as you can see from the above photo the cats are missing her a great deal. They are sleeping through their sadness.

The garden is doing great. The newly planted squash have come up. The tomatoes are about to put out a ton of small grape tomatoes, though the big ones are a few weeks behind. I need to pull the peas, they are not doing well at all.

The trip east went well. We had a good visit with C's parents, though her mother over did it and was in pain by the time we left.

Other than that, it has been very quiet here.