Wednesday Weather Report #215 - 6/30/21

I have a hard time complaining about our weather when I know it's so much worse in the Western USA but I'm going to do it anyway...

We've had some rain the last couple of days but 10 minutes of torrential rain doesn't do much in the face of a another extremely dry summer. It's also been hot enough to make this girl melt as soon as she leaves the air conditioned office. I don't think I've been able to accomplish anything meaningful this week other than walks in the morning where I arrive home dripping with sweat. It feels good to accomplish a long walk but gooder to step directly into a cool shower! LOL!

I would like to say these high temps are more like late July or August weather but my excel spreadsheet with the daily temps since 2017 is on a thumb drive that isn't working at the moment so I can't really confirm that. Anyone have a surefire way to rescue files from a non-cooperative thumb drives?

June 23 - 29, 2021
66 - 82 - 80 - 83 - 87 - 87 - 90 F

I walked to the local state park again on Sunday. I happened to wake up early enough that the temps were comfortable but I didn't sit at my favorite bench very long to enjoy the view since the caterpillar poop was grossing me out. Do you have the gypsy moth problem like we are having ? The caterpillars are eating trees bare of their leaves and they poop a LOT. The little pellets fall from the trees and cover everything - it sounds like rain if they are hitting the right surface. Luckily or unluckily they are now changing in to their chrysalids to become moths so the leaf munching and pooping will stop - we will just need to deal with the moths... Ah nature!

Feline Friday - 6/25/21

There's nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap in my favorite nursery tray! 

Yipp - right here next to the recycling bin!

Ahhhh ... that was a good stretch!

Enough Already, Momma!! Enough with the pictures!!

Wednesday Weather Report #214 - 6/23/21

It's one of the best seasons of the year : Strawberry Season!!!

And these beauties are from a new coworker's strawberry patch. Soooo sweet and juicy. Rumor is she's bringing more so that I can make strawberry ice cream!

June 16 - 22, 2021
65 - 69 - 71 - 80 - 76 - 82 - 55 F

Your eyes are not deceiving you - it was a mere 55F yesterday. It was quite rejuvenating, especially for my morning walk, but also a shocker since summer has finally and officially begun.

Feline Friday - 6/18/21

I have the best kicker toy collection east of the Mississippi and west of the Genesee!!

You would never guess this started as a neat line of shoes by the door =^..^=

Wednesday Weather Report #213 - 6/16/21

As an eclipse picture, these are unimpressive but as sunrise pictures with the fog rising over the Genesee River (one of few that flows north) and the lush farm fields, I think they are stunning.

Sunrise, Thursday, 6/10/21 @ 05:46
Lunar Eclipse

Sunrise, Thursday, 6/10/21 @ 05:50
Lunar Eclipse

I walked to the local state park Sunday morning, ate breakfast at my new favorite bench (quiet and shaded!) and then walked back home. You can see the haze in the air as the day was destined to be a hot one. The river gorge you see below is home to the same river in the pictures above.

Sunday, 6/13/21 @ 8:05
Letchworth State Park

June 9 - 15, 2021
81 - 77 - 81 - 74 - 81 - 60 - 68 F

Wednesday Weather Report #212 - 6/9/21

It's been hot and muggy this week but there have been been some lovely sunrises and sunsets as I struggle to find cooler weather for my virtual challenge walks. 

Sunrise Friday, 6/4/21
The sun was rising and the fog was lifting

Sunset Sunday, 6/6/21
Life is better with sunsets and cell towers

My county is very hilly - before the cell tower was built in my village just a couple years ago I could only get decent internet on my cell phone in certain areas of my house and couldn't move while talking on the phone or it would cut out. The service is much better now but I also spend a lot more time on the internet. I'm not always sure it was a better trade off...

June 2 - 8, 2021
74 - 70 - 76 - 90 - 85 - 84 - 79F

That Saturday it was 90? I was at the NYS Yoga Festival. You know, exercising in the sun for 5 hours. The Sunday it was 85, I mowed the lawn at 9am and still was about to pass out from the heat and humidity. MY face was beet red! Tomorrow's high will only be 79. That's better, right?!

PS - The hexies are posed on the Sea Serpent (Village mascot) bike rack. The actual Sea Serpent was used as a marketing hoax at Silver Lake in the next town. It worked as lots of people came to search the lake for it a hundred years ago until the local hotel burned and they found the "serpent" in the attic next to the bellows that filled it with air so that it would rise from the water. 

Feline Friday - 6/4/21

 Do you think I could be a model?

Maybe a whisker model? It's gotta pay more than being a hand model or a paw model, right?!

Wednesday Weather Report #211 - 6/2/21

Hello and Welcome to the last report of May 2021 - we've had some wacky weather. Keep in mind that we just had some near 90F days and then this came...

May 26 - 31, 2021 :: 75 - 62 - 38 - 48 - 60 - 68 F
June 1, 2021 :: 72

You eyes are NOT deceiving you - that is a blue day at the end of May. The windchill was only 30F/-1.1C!! Brrrrrr!! Never fear tho as we are doomed headed towards 90F again next week.

I took advantage of the long weekend to refill my "weather" box. Considering the number of days already in the 70s/80s this year it was time. You can also tell the colors that don't get used that much as they aren't topped off.  I'm pretty well stocked for the next 18 months or so.

Did you know the full moon last week was a super blood moon? That made it the largest and brightest moon of the whole year. I went out for one last walk after the day had cooled off to find the  moon rising up over the neighbor's houses. 

As with any sun or moon pic, they are always so much better in person, meaning you'll have to trust me when I say it was a stunner and so worth the surprise.

The Bibliophile Files - 6/1/21

Welcome to my monthly reading list. It was an exceptional month of reading, only to be rivaled by most summer camping trips. Can you believe I am already 10 books ahead of schedule for the year? Woot!! Most of the (audio) reading takes place during my daily walks. I had a little set back over the weekend thanks to the rain but I'm back on track and hoping to have another successful month in June.

FINISHED
     The Whistler - a mysterious whistle blower files a misconduct charge against a judge and The Florida Board of Judicial Review must determine if the judge is actually involved with the mafia and their monetary scams. 

     The Turn of the Key - A little bit psycho-thriller, a little bit Big Brother and a little bit family drama.

     The Last Juror - The new/young owner revives the failing small town newspaper after writing many articles about the 1970 murder trial of a young white man who raped and murdered a young black woman. While the man is given life in prison, he is released after just a couple of years and begins hunting down the jurors who convicted him.

     They Went Left - The story of a young woman looking for her little brother after being liberated from WWII Polish prison camps.

     Hello Sunshine - a good summer read about food, betrayal and frienemies.

     Into White - a young black teenager prays for Jesus to turn her into a white teenager. The story is partially about who still sees her as black while others see her as white. I never figured out why some only saw her as black after she was white.

     Easy Prey - Told from the point of view of 3 high school students. It's essentially a warning about being careful with technology: sexting, the internet, etc.

     Circling the Sun - raised in Kenya, this is the story of her "wild" upbringing and her disastrous family and romantic relationships.

     Cold Mourning - a new-to-me series of a First Nations police recruit who must solve a mystery by herself over the Christmas holidays when her peers don't quite believe in her.

     Behind Closed Doors - If ever I wanted to hate a character, then this book is about him. I kept reading solely to see if he got his comeuppance.

     Kindred - the sci fi part of this story was hard for me to like but I did appreciate the historical story of a (black) woman who saves a (white) child in order to assure the blood line continues, despite the slave-owner dynamics.

     The Magic Barrel - this was a free YA book from the SYNC summer series. Each year they include a LA Theater Works production that I really look forward to for the multiple actors, sound effects including applause, theater atmosphere, etc. This year's offering was so short, it's almost like it wasn't a LATW. The short story about finding a wife for a young Jewish man was good but predictable.

     Of Beetles & Angels: a boy's remarkable journey from refugee camp to Harvard - I kinda thought that Harvard was a small part of the story given the mention in the title. It was an interesting take on the refugee journey to making good in the USA.

     Alive - this was another free YA book. It's also a graphic audio novel or a "movie in your mind" meaning there are lots of annoying sound effects. I've not yet decided if I want to finish the trilogy..

IN PROGRESS

     The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek

And now it's your turn - what have you been reading? Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box!