Tales from the Corners

It's summer and time to share some wildlife photos from the neighborhood.

Morguefile I was delirious as the lawn mower was choking on the thick dew-stained grass under the blazing hot sun attempting to make my yard somewhat presentable. It was only a matter of minutes before I was going to crawl to the shed to get the sledgehammer so that I could put the poor mower out of its misery.  How could I possibly do this to my mower which only wishes to cut my grass, not “murder it” by taking down “mountains of vegetation.” That’s torture for anyone or anything which includes this innocent machine. Cami intercepted me to offer a break and some water. I refused. The sounds of thunder were approaching. “I got to get this monster lawn full of grass, weeds, tics, ants and deer droppings sliced down before the storm arrives!” I protested. Cami gave up on me, heading back inside to the AC. Instead of reaching for the sledgehammer, I retrieved my water bottle which saved me during plenty of my insane summer runs and guzzled away, trying to save mysel...

Moguefile/dhester Now that we are here in mid-July, it looks like summer is almost over. What? That’s right. Back-to-school 2017 is right around the corner. Where did summer go? Can you believe that some schools go back in session on July 31? For education professionals, there is no doubt that they are preparing to go back to work any minute. I’m not sure when this started, but back-to-school has crept up earlier and earlier through the years, making it seem that summer pretty much ends after the last firework is out and the last Nathan's wiener is eaten by hot dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut on the Fourth of July. So, what happened to actual summer? Our fair state has its reasons for returning to school in late July/early August, but I could think of advantages and disadvantages with these dates. Since the schools are air conditioned, students are better off in a climate controlled environment rather than sweltering at camps throughout August. The disadvantage to goin...