I Love All This Rain

Yes, it's raining outside again right now, as it's been doing with atypical regularity all summer long. Since June 20, our high temperatures have been below average every day, which makes the rain (and attendant headaches) worth it in my view. And unlike my parents, who have also been dealing with a lot of rain, we've been mosquito-free. (All those Mexican free-tailed bats taking their toll on local bug populations?) Of course, the rain arguably limits one's ability to be active outdoors, but since nothing in my experience (up to and including -8 degree weather) is as limiting as the sunny, humid, 100+ degree summer days we usually have, that's no big deal.

Other benefits:

Cooler summer days => less electricity used to A/C the apartment => good impact on Operation Cheap Ass.

I get to bring out my gorgeous umbrella that I bought at the Zilker Park botanical gardens shop.



My herb garden has been happy. Left to right: peppermint, oregano, thyme, basil.



The other morning, I saw a little rodent (presumably a cotton rat or field mouse) scurrying around on the bare ground between the grass down and to the right of the area shown in the picture above, but by the time I grabbed my binocs, he had disappeared into some grass. We saw deer and fawns down there this year, but I have yet to see any evidence that the red-shouldered hawks are nesting in those trees this summer.