The marshmallow test

 

dinner plate hibiscus. I had bought it a few weeks ago. At first the buds indicated it would be white, irritating as I already have 5 white hibiscuses but fortunately it was pink

I went to an estate sale of a local artist. While I didn't buy any of her original art, I did buy parts of her collections

Miss Hannah

Steve's almost 96 year old mother. We had a Zoom session with her which she hated and was trying to escape it but when her daughter visited (through a window the next day, she was more engaged.

This doll sort of looks like Naomi

A katydid

My moon flower has quadrupled in size. All will die down but I've been told it will reseed

Our house early in the morning. Now all the front gardens are encircled by the almost 100 glads I planted

Lots of vegetables I've been harvesting. Aside from these, eggplants, peppers, chard and various lettuces

Columbine

The nearby lake at dawn

immature Cooper's hawk honing his skills at my bird feeder He is a teenager but huge, the biggest accipitor

He missed on his first pass though he caused a panic. He is hiding in a tree here waiting for the birds to return. He missed the second time too but the next day I saw him probably being successful

infinity mirror to amuse grandkids

Maya at her Dad's

There is a test administered to 4 year olds called the marshmallow test. A child is presented with a marshmallow and told he could eat it now but if he is able to wait 10 minutes, he will get two marshmallows. Then the child is left ten minutes or so alone with the marshmallow. Some find the marshmallow too tempting but others wait for the bigger pay off.  It turns out they have tracked theses kids. Guess which ones are more successful in life?

I suspect the ones who can't wait turn into Trump lovers.

So his latest desperate hare brained scheme is to stop payroll deductions for Social security and medicare. A win-win situation because the worker will get a fatter paycheck and the company doesn't have to contribute its share. More money now! But when these workers need social security and medicare, there will be nothing for them. And are these the responsible people saving up for their retirement on their own? No way But these people lack executive functioning and just want instant gratification, damn the consequences.

Can Trump get away with this? Hopefully not. And I don't think they are chiseling his ugly mug on Mt. Rushmore either as he has requested.

Covid continues to spread no thanks to incredibly poor leadership. Our neck of the woods isn't so bad but we are surrounded by covidiots. None of my grandchildren will go to school this fall in person. NYC public schools surprisingly are opening. My sister in law worked for a private school which was going to have in person classes. She quit.

We had a blissful week of cool weather so I was able to run semi comfortably. This week it is back to being hot and humid so I have been bicycling early in the morning. I am gardening alot. Flowers and vegetables galore. I have been seeing friends and family. I got out my old ice cream maker and made fresh peach gelato. I spent some time going to an estate sale of a local artist and bought lots of art glass along with the folk dolls pictured.

The days are getting shorter which is sad. I leave in the early morning in pink skies. Nice sunsets and sunrises. I was out late for me the other night with a friend. We still have fireflies and I saw a few bats. Cicadas and crickets were making their calls.