Smells like Summer..... and skunk.

We had the grass cut today... not the fields, but the lawns around the house, cottage and barn. I think the last time everything got mowed was about a month ago, when we were having regular rains. Without the rain, nothing was growing. Last week, we had two days of pouring rain, and everything just sprouted up really quickly. So today was the day...... the lawn guy came with his riding-mower and everything is now freshly cut and looking very nice.

There's nothing quite like the aroma of fresh-cut grass. It just smells like Spring and Summer, nice and green and good, fresh and new. When the grass is mowed in the morning and that just-cut smell is in the air, it seems to give the day endless possibilities.

I don't let the cats outside while the grass is being mowed. They don't like the noise, and I never know where they'll run to and where they will hide. It takes a good long while to cut all the grass here around the house and guest houses, and I don't want the lawn guy to have to be looking out for the cats as he's riding around the property. The chickens just stay out of his way, so they're not a problem.

The skunk........ my husband and W the handyman were off by the barn this morning, cleaning paintbrushes, and they both smelled skunk. It's an odor you can't miss, and there have been mornings when I've smelled that horrible odor as soon as I opened the kitchen door. Not a good smell, by any means. W told my husband that there are people who keep skunks as pets---- they have them de-scented. My first response is Why?! Both as in why have them as pets and why have them de-scented? Aren't there enough cats and dogs and chickens to go around for the pet-lovers? Skunks are wild, and meant to be wild. I'm wondering if the skunk people train their skunk-pets to use an indoor litter box.

Nearly 105 degrees today..... this morning started out so foggy that we could hardly see across the road to the neighbor's property. The fog burned off when the sun came out, and it's been a stifling day ever since. Summer is still here, and should be till the end of October or November. Then, hopefully, we will swing back into Spring weather..... with a few cold days of winter-y temperatures here and there. And, hopefully, the awful frigid temperatures of last year's December and January will remain just a distant entry in the Texas weather books.

Speaking of books....... I'm reading Edith Wharton's "The Glimpses of The Moon." Wonderful vintage hardcover that was on the one-dollar clearance shelf in Half-Price Books. I thought I had discovered all of Wharton's books, but somehow I missed this one along the way. Interesting story, as her books always are, and beautifully written. It's hard not to re-read certain sentences of hers and just study their composition. Wharton was such a gifted writer. Her books about turn-of-the-century society are so unlike the modern fiction of today. And I guess that should be society with a capital S.... Society (she wrote mainly of New York, New England, and European social circles).

My husband was talking about that Kindle thing... he asked me if I wanted one. No blessed way, thank you very much. I need to hold the book, feel the cover, turn the pages, admire its age and its vintage-ness. I guess if you're into reading all the latest and greatest best-sellers, then Kindle is the way to go. I have discovered that when you read only books that you want to keep and re-read, you're much more selective in your choices.

Re-reading books. I should hope to live long enough to re-read every book in this house that I would like to read over again. (As my dear friend Blanche would have said: From your lips to God's ears.)