The lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer

My younger brother says I’ve been neglecting this blog, and he’s right. Mea culpa, Dave, I’ve been remiss. But I’ve been busy with other things. Inside my house, in the living room, the brown velour sofa slipcovers of winter have been replaced by the off-white, cotton duck of summer; the red and brown wool winter dhurries have been rolled up and put in storage, and the blue and white cotton summer dhurries are on the floor; the winter kilim cases on the throw pillows have been replaced by blue and white summer toile.

















Outside my house, the lawn is freshly edged and cut, the flower beds are freshly mulched, and there are blooming pots of petunias, geraniums, guara, shasta daisies, impatiens, evolvulus, and bougainvillea. The pool is up and running, and last night, with Mike, Sara, Xander, Katharine and me in attendance, we had our first family swim of this season. 3-year-old (almost 4!) Xander liked it so much, he came back today, and happily "swam"with Mike, Sara and me in his flotation suit for a couple of hours, after which he was peeled out of his floaty suit and sat, nude and happy, beside the pool, contemplating the blue water as he happily devoured an orange popsicle.
Tonight, Mike and Sara grilled flank steak. I tossed a salad, and steamed some veggies, and Chris and Stephanie came over for dinner, and the five of us ate by candlelight on the patio. Afterward, we sat around the table, talking about our upcoming July tubing trip on the Guadalupe. In the background, the low, rhythmic, rising and falling buzzing sound of cicadas filled the air. Yes, summer is almost here...and it feels good.