Summer in the air

I just finished mowing almost all the grass we normally cut. The blackflies and mosquitoes are hitting their stride these days with the cool nights and hot days, but today is windy so I didn't need a bug suit.

Big mows are kind of nice at this time of the year: I put the grass catcher attachment on the mower to collect grass clippings for the compost. There are also numerous “wild” asparagus plants around the perimeters of several lawns, so I can pick a juicy stem as I pass by.

The lilacs are almost out; the apples and chokecherries are in full bloom, and many of the bulbs are blooming. We had a lengthy fire in the firepit last weekend and burned three pickup loads of junk wood, as well as all of the grape, currant and apple prunings from the winter. Nice to get the yard tidied up.

The big news is that it looks like we have house sitters for a year, so we can start planning our big trip. Plans are starting to gel now, but it looks like we’ll leave in December to drive to BC via California, then fly to Bali for mid- [edit July 29] early January for Bangkok.