Top 15: The (Analog) Things We Did Summer 2016

“People are so into digital recording now they forgot how easy analog recording can be.” ~ Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters

♥

All photos were captured (lazily) with
the more convenient camera phone.

My apologies for being off-line for the summer.
Looking forward to coming back soon!

1. Roll out the can for the first time this year.

This single can of waste took more than six months to fill it up once recycling and compost-able materials were removed.

Trash Nazi’s still got it.

2. Fawn watch daily.

As far as yard babies go, this ain’t our first rodeo, but it is the first time we got to watch a fawn grow and mature with his mother since Day One of birth. ‘Kelly’ — as well as another set of twins, last year’s twins, and their mothers — come through our yard several times a day.

‘Kelly’ After Being Caught

Temporary Home Until
Lawn Crews Finish

Two Sets Of Twins
Last Year’s and This Year’s

3. Incubate and hatch reptilians.

As eggs are laid and abandoned by their mothers, the process is generally easy to do indoors with the proper equipment and education. They were all minimally handled and released in their  yard habitat. (You can read all about it here, if you missed it!)

First Three Hatchlings

 

Tiny Green Anole Hatchling

4. Go to the museum.

When the Houston, Texas heat gets to be too much, we go to public air-conditioned places like the Museum of Natural Science. It’s made more fun by riding the light rail in, chasing pigeons through the park on the way, or watch what’s on the IMAX big screen or Planetarium ceiling screen. Be sure to get goofy where situations call for it.

Chasing pigeons never gets old!

The Girls (with me in it, for a change)

Let’s see you do this with a live zoo specimen.

5. Get that license plate.

Finally, I can explain with a simple finger-point just why it is I’m loading bags and bags of people’s trash into the van. The minivan turned 12 this year (and rolled over 100,000 miles as well), so she got some interior detailing, a set of new struts and shocks, and an operating passenger side window motor that hasn’t worked since 2005.

6. Make unlikely friends.

‘Holmes’ is the only one who will get close enough to that I can touch him with my toe. He’s also smart enough to empty the feeder for all his friends. He is rewarded for his antics and companionship with a pile all to himself at my feet.

7. Dog-sit for friends.

Everyone seems to be taking vacation but us, and the kids gain financially from it. They ride bikes to their ‘job’ and walk and care for friends’ furry peeps 2-3 times a day.

Our favorite furry friends at ‘pee rock.’

8. Play garden games.

Who can find the weirdest vegetable? How about the biggest bug? Mom’s eggplant and Scott’s ox beetle take the cake.

This is apparently a male eggplant fruit.

Funky Romaine Split

Ox Beetles are gigantic!
They are the gardener’s joy and delight.

9. Make homemade stuff.

Pizza, iced cream, and cupcakes (vegan, of course) are crazy easy to make at home. The kids do the process from beginning to finish — including cleaning up the mess afterward. We avoid the inescapable enslavement of others (dining out choices) and save money ta boot.

Homemade Vanilla Strawberry Shortcake

Pizza For One

10. Watch a sunrise or sunset daily.

It is difficult starting the day without push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and (gasp) a cup of coffee. While the kids sleep in, I will enjoy the quiet outside, going in once the birds and deer have moved on. Come end of July, the migrating hummingbirds start to arrive one-by-one. By August, there will be dozens!

Front Swing Morning Contemplation

11. Dream, plan, dream.

It’s still a bit soon to ditch the big house and yard in the city for a (smaller) one on the beach. But we watch and wait so that the opportunity isn’t missed when it comes along.

12. Try an indoor water park.

When the flesh-eating bacteria arrived on schedule to the Gulf Coast beaches, we opted for the indoor park with friends. Three out of the five of us contracted pink-eye or some kind of respiratory illness anyways. (But it was still better than contracting a flesh-eating bacterial infection).

[Email Readers: This is a video embed. You will have to view it at the blog!]

13. Wait for birds to arrive.

When thousands of Purple Martins come in to roost for the night, ‘white rain’ is usually what results. There were notably fewer birds this year than there were last, (they may have chosen a different roosting spot), but it’s still a great way to kick-start fall birding.

Try to keep your mouth closed while looking up, son.

14. Go birding in the rain.

When thunderstorms develop in the blink of an eye, rain can soak an outdoor event lickety split. I managed to stay completely dry — person and camera equipment — with the 99-cent poncho stuffed in the camera bag only at the last minute.

Brazos Bend State Park Thunderstorm

15. Be a Guinea Pig midwife.

When neighbors left for several weeks, the guinea pigs came over. It’s another one of those chores the kids get paid for, but Mom was less than enthused when ‘The Fat One’ turned out to be pregnant. Helping a guinea pig with pup-birth wasn’t so hard, but the labor was intense and the pups were huge. However, these guys are too cute for words.

(And no, we aren’t keeping any.)

FOUR More Babies!!

Baby #17 for the Summer of 2016

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What’s in your summer?
Are you spending it analog…or digital?