Augustan Lassitude

Cicadas are still getting closer and louder, but still aren't in my yard. I wonder if the fact that we do so little watering keeps them away? They always show up first in the orchard, which is well irrigated, then appear in neighboring yards which usually get their lawn sprinklers turned on now and then. About the only places that get watered in my yard are a few flower beds and a couple of bushes. The only part of the lawn that stays green all summer is the patch growing over the leach lines of the septic system. Maybe my desiccated yard is as unappealing to cicadas as it is to me. The only time I see them is when they come to die in my back porch sink when Autumn arrives.

We are getting lots of hummingbirds this year, though. This afternoon a pair of them were feeding on the trumpet vine flowers. The feral kittens were in the back yard and watched them carefully, but made no attempts to stalk them. They've probably learned that hummingbirds are uncatchable. Besides, why try to catch birds when you've got a human putting food in a bowl for you?

Not only are leaves starting to fall, but I hear acorns smacking rooftops every few minutes. Soon there will be squirrels foraging everywhere. I grow more eager for autumn every day.

Each section of this entry got smaller.


( Sunday Verse )