It's still hot and muggy here in rural, upstate New York. I'm grateful that we have a window air conditioner in the bedroom, but that can be so confining. (And, there are only so many things one can do in a bedroom!) Consequently, I've been spending time in our shady gazebo. It's nestled into apple, cherry and pine trees, with honeysuckle and raspberry plants behind. There are large trees further behind that shade it from the sun for much of the day. If there's a breeze, it catches it and the windchimes play. I've frequently found myself going out there with a good book to escape the heat in the house. There are wetlands a little further behind, but it's screened from mosquitoes. I've found myself being very grateful to have such a book nook at the far end of our property.
I've been sharing my good fortune with a fat and feisty woodchuck. You can see the hole he insists on keeping right below the door to the gazebo. I spent some time tossing all the stone back down that he had worked so hard to throw up, but each day I returned to the gazebo, he had cleared his tunnel all back out. My husband said that the woodchuck had chosen a highly defensible spot - no predator can sneak up on him there. It's also very dry. So, as long as he doesn't expand the hole to human size, we have a truce and peace reigns in the back lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment