Summer is not even close to being over....

Feels like a hundred degrees outside, and if you need to stand in the sun to make sure the goldfish in the fountain have enough clean water, then you will soon know what a boiled lobster feels like.  We started out with a dozen goldfish in the bottom of that fountain... there are now seven. Have no idea what happened to the other five... either raccoons or egrets or maybe even snacks for a snake.

Speaking of snakes, I nearly stepped on a long black snake a couple of weeks ago. Granted, he was trying to get away from me as quickly as I was trying to get away from him. We came so close to each other that the tail of the snake whipped against my ankle as he sped past me. According to a snake-specialist neighbor who has lived in this state all of her life, it was a whip-snake that happened to be crossing my path just as I was walking to the road to check the mailbox. All I can say is that I never knew I could scream so loud. And what would it matter... there is no one around to hear any sort of scream.  I must be out of my city-girl mind.

As I type, our kitten Zuzu is at the vet’s office... she was spayed this morning and I can’t pick her up till tomorrow at 9am.  The older cats have been quiet all morning... no playing... no running up and down the back stairs in the kitchen.... no squeaky mouse-toys underfoot in the breakfast room. It’s amazing to me how such a small kitten can make such a big difference in the dynamics of a household. On the way to the vet, Zuzu was meowing pitifully in her carry-crate. I turned on the CD player and Manilow music filled my car... little Zuzu quieted down and stuck her paw through the crate’s door. I put my hand by the door and Zuzu wrapped her paw around my finger... and that’s how I drove into town.