Bugs

the old church along my way

bike path- Huron Valley trail

What the M-14 overpass looks like at 6 am looking east. My solar lights were still on when I got up

underneath these enormous leaves are 6 baby squash. Just a month ago, the plants were 4/$1 seedlings

When my cooking classmate gave me some hardy hibiscuses, she said that another plant was entwined, which has a religious name that I forgot. I thought I discarded everything that wasn't a hibiscus (lots of weeds) but this survived

We had Maya on this very hot weekend. Too hot for the playground but she had no interest running through the spray zone (just packed to the gills with kids)

I harvested 3 more cups of rhubarb. Since I needed 4 cups, I supplemented with strawberries. The Moms seemed to

like it. My kids thought it would be great if I skipped the rhubarb and stuck with  just strawberries

It is deer fly season in the wet woodlands I run through. Although there are plenty of deer to feed on, some seek me out now. Moving air discourages them (never bother me while I bike) but my head is relatively immobile. They land on top and try to burrow through my hair to get to my scalp when I kill them. I had parts of six squished bugs in my hair by the time I returned yesterday. Wearing a hat would stop them but would make me feel hot. I only wore a hat when I was bald and still was tempted to take it off when people weren't around. One did land on my upper arm and took a chunk out of it. It really doesn't hurt that much but it is disgusting. And it is way too hot not to have the shelter of the trees.

Fireflies are also out., a sure sign of summer. We (the Moms) were sitting around a firepit last night. The heat of the day had finally went away. The surrounding fields glowed with their tiny lights. A nice night, drinking our Moscow mules, eating fish tacos having good conversations.

Annoying bugs: whatever is making my grandchildren sick. A week of high temps, fatigue morphing into ear infections. Maya's was short-lived but Oliver and Tessa still aren't completely well. And Allie had the croup making ungodly sounds.

Yesterday was Dontae's birthday. He chose to celebrate without kids. Naomi works  weekends so we had Maya. She is in constant motion, impulsive, does not stay on task so she is a challenge to deal with. If she does not quickly grow out of this, I think drugs will be needed. It is easier on us if we siphon off some of her considerable energy with constant activities, difficult when it is over 90 outside. I tried to exercise while she was asleep (also necessary because of the heat) so not to burden Steve so much (especially as I had left Saturday night). I did do night terror duty. She of course wants to sleep with us but even in her sleep, she is constantly moving and kicking and grinding her teeth. Usually I just lie with her until she falls asleep.

Due to my very early bike ride as the sun came up (nice and cool), I was able to return in time to help her make a combination birthday/Father's Day card for her dad. She was so proud of it and waited impatiently on the porch for her daddy to come and see it.

I had taken her hair down to put in conditioner. If you straighten it out, her hair would reach the middle of her back but it springs back into a cloud of hair that skims her shoulders. Underneath her reddish-black ringlets are straight strawberry blond hairs.  She is a beautiful child. We ordered a DNA test to uncover her father's half, a mix of African-American, Native American and as with most African-Americans, considerable European. The DNA test does not distinguish between groups of Native-Americans (must have too small of a data base as I would think that the Pacific Coast natives would be way different from the Eastern tribes). According to her paternal grandmother, they are Cherokee and Blackfoot. I was listening to a podcast about the Trail of Tears when Andrew Jackson expelled the Cherokees from the East making them walk a thousand miles to Oklahoma. A chief that had saved his life died en route. That's gratitude for you. Expel him from our twenties! Anyway, I was unaware that the Cherokees had slaves too and they came with them. Perhaps this  is how the Cherokee blood got mixed in.

It is Father's Day. My own father was much too immature to become a good one but I live with an excellent father and grandfather. Josh took us out for an early lunch. He too is a great father. Shanna and Daniel stopped by later. Naomi texted "Happy Father's Day" Later a friend asked Naomi if we all had gotten together for Father's Day (not unless I arranged it) and she accurately predicted how it would go down.

I took a rare nap this afternoon.  One more day of oppressive heat and then a bit of relief.