Cicadas and Crickets

 

We are now one week into the “last month of summer” and it is becoming obvious.  All day we have cicadas singing in the trees and all night we have crickets singing in the lawn.

The place is becoming quite noisy!

This cicada, no doubt in search of a willing mate, spent some time chirruping from the perch of our deck umbrella.  I have no idea whether the serenades were successful or not.

There are no safety catches on my bedroom windows, so I dislike having them open during the night.  However, last night the room was quite stuffy so I opened them up for 15 minutes to let some of the cooler air in.

The noise from the crickets was deafening!

Now that the new Expressway is open we seldom hear traffic at night any more, so this change from relative silence was quite a surprise.

Cicadas and crickets are not the only busy ones at this time.  I found this paper wasp nest on the fence – thankfully, it doesn’t have to be me trying to get rid of it!  I will leave that job to the expert (aka, my son).

I know the length of the days is changing as I am once again getting up before the sun rises. 

Summer does not seem to have lasted very long, although I remember from past years that February can often have extremely hot days.

Stay safe and be happy, whatever you do today 😊

Margaret.

 

In The Cool Of The Evening

 

How pleasant it is to sit outside in the evening after a hot sultry day.  Not that we get as hot or as sultry as some places around the world, but it is enough heat and humidity to sap all the energy out of me.

I am rising early in the mornings to get done what must be done, and then the rest of the day is spent seeking the coolest spot in the house and finding something non-energetic to do.

As the temperature cools down again in the evening, I love being able to sit outside on the deck with a tall glass of chilled water and watch the night close in. 

Our solar fairy lights never all come on at once (we have four separate strands), so I sit and watch them too as they flicker on.

Most of the birds have settled down for the night, but there is always the odd one twitting and flitting around. 

A kind of hush seems to fall across the human world, with no lawnmowers going, no happy children playing next door, no noisy traffic zooming up and down our road – I guess they are all having dinner or watching television.

Of course, the mosquitos also enjoy the evening!  I have two citronella candles that I light and sit on the deck beside me, and they seem to work at keeping most of them away (for some reason, mozzies think my blood is delicious).

Do you have a favourite way of ending a hot summer’s day?

Margaret 😊

 

A Dizzy Spell

 

It is another hot summer’s day today – it makes for perfect early morning weather for hot air balloons!

As you can see, the balloon was at quite a distance from me

The garden is also enjoying the warmth, although it needs watering every night at the moment.  We are under water restrictions, so all watering is being done with a hand-held hose.

I love the colour of these Asters

A couple of years ago, I slipped over and ended up with a doozy of a concussion and a very sore big toe.  I recovered from the concussion and the toe was x-rayed but showed nothing wrong.

However, it still gives me pain and I cannot bend it at all so the doctor sent me for a further x-ray, which I had this morning.

I went to a different place today, and I must say their methods were much more professional than the place I originally went to.  They even had me in their records, as I went there 25 years ago after having a car accident!

The big problem was that after the x-ray I had a severe dizzy spell, which is not normal for me at all.  The lady sat me down and gave me a biscuit and a frothy milky hot chocolate until I felt better. 

She was so nice, and thought it may have come about because of the strange twisting and turning required for the x-ray.  I have been feeling fine since, so I hope that is all it was.

Ice-cold smoothie is a crystal beer mug!

Lunch today was a sandwich, and a banana and boysenberry smoothie with lots of ice in it.  Then we have salad on the menu for dinner tonight – simple easy meals are the order of the day at the moment.

Whatever your plans for today, stay happy and stay safe 😊

Margaret.

Nana Napping

 

Today has been one of those peaceful lazy days of summer, with blue skies and sunshine and barely any wind.  Even the neighbours were quiet!

Son and his girlfriend went off on a day excursion to the coastal town of Raglan so I had the house to myself for most of the day.

This lovely canna lily was flowering in a friend's garden

This evening I have been out watering the garden with a hand-held hose (summer water restrictions have already begun), an enjoyable way to appreciate the cooler balminess of the evening.

After lunch, I began reading The Toll Gate by Georgette Heyer, more a mystery than a romance so a bit different to her other books but still with the historical context.  However, the day was so pleasant that I ended up nodding off several times.

I decided Nana-Naps were the order of the day and gave myself up to the luxury.

We all need to treat ourselves sometimes 😊

Margaret

The First Day Of Summer

 

The first day of December, the first day of summer, the first day of the last month of this strange year.  Who would have thought twelve months ago that 2020 was going to turn out the way it did.

I have been spring cleaning – a bit late in the season but better late than not at all.  I have only been doing my bedroom (that’s enough!) and it seems to be taking ages.

All the furniture got moved around into their summer settings – the best place for my bed is under one of the windows but in the winter too much cold came through the glass so I moved the bed.  It is now back beneath the window.  Of course, when the bed is moved all the drawers need moving as well so that everything can fit.

Yay - it's summer!

I don’t mind having a winter and summer setting for my furniture.  I like to make seasonal changes in the décor – they may not be big things but they just add a little something and help one stay in touch with the rhythm of nature.

Every drawer has been gone through and I have discarded about half of my clothes.  Most were either worn out or no longer fitted nicely, but some were perfectly good only I didn’t like them.  I finally came to the decision that I never wore them because I disliked them, so what was the point in keeping them?

I am not a minimalist by any means but there is something very comfortable about not owning too many things.  I can now see everything I have stored in my wardrobe, and I know all my clothes fit me and look good.  And my bedroom is all clean, ready for the hot summer months ahead.

Stay happy 😊

Margaret.

Summertime

It is another of those hot days that seem to sap the energy from your bones.  We are meant to reach 29 degrees C later this afternoon, and it would not surprise me if it goes over that.   I think I am beginning to look forward to the arrival of autumn!

On the lunchtime news bulletin it was announced that the whole of the North Island and some of the South Island are now under a total fire ban.  Even the use of lawnmowers and other outdoor machinery is being discouraged as the fire risk has climbed so high.

It seems to me that I moan a lot when the weather gets hot – and moan a lot when it gets cold.  Is there no pleasing me?  I love the mellow warmth of autumn but it never lasts very long, and the crisp coolness of spring is refreshing but too often remains sprinkled with winter cold.

Perhaps I need to learn to appreciate the different seasons more.  So, what can I celebrate about summer?

Well, in summer the skies become a beautiful blue colour, often with fluffy white clouds.

It is warm enough to go swimming in the ocean.

Or camping by the beach.

Summer brings a profusion of flowers into the garden.

Washing always dries quickly, sometimes within a couple of hours.

Meals are light and it is a great time for outdoor picnics.

Not so many clothes need to be worn – but I won’t show you the old photo I have of me in a bikini!!

February is late summer, always our hottest month.  It is the time to rise early in the morning and get things done, and then to retreat to somewhere comfortable and cool. 

A time to read or sketch or snooze. 

A time for tall glasses of chilled water. 

A time to nibble on luscious ripe peaches and juicy plums. 

Maybe summer is not that bad after all.

Margaret.


LINKED TO Skywatch Friday

A Summer Poem

We have hot summer temperatures here today, expecting to hit 30C later this afternoon.  I just wilt in this heat and have been trying to find something to do inside.

So far I have begun reading two different books and discarded both of them.  One was plain boring, the other was too hard-going.  It is too hot for serious reading at the moment.

Browsing through some of my old notebooks I came across some poems I had written.  The following one is about Summer, so I thought that was appropriate for today.

Mt Maunganui ocean beach (2010)

SUMMER

Skies are blue, washed pale with heat,

Fluffy clouds form and just as quickly flee.

Cows swish tails to chase away flies,

And cicadas chirp loudly from their tree. 

Next door’s children squeal with delight,

Squirting each other with the hose.

Gardens swelter beneath the sun,

As one by one we shed our clothes.

By the sea the crowds gather;

Claiming to have fun on the hot sand.

Splashing in the cool ocean waves,

As summer spreads across the land.

* * * * * * * 

This photo was taken in Napier during 2009.  I think it is a great way to disguise the functionality of public toilet facilities!

Linked to Monday Mural