I was supposed to have airplane sex today (aerial refueling practice) but the KC-130 fell out. So I went home. Saw that Chemlawn came today, and left their little "keep off the grass" sign sticking in the lawn. Then it poured. They always seem to spray the lawn when there are severe thunderstorms forecast. I wonder how much actually washes away, and how much just goes straight through the sand during those torrential downpours (the ones that come down in sheets). Funny I don't remember agreeing to a contract, but they've sprayed four times this summer. Seems like I'm paying as much for my lawn as I'm paying for cable.

spedigrees: They do look sort of like gigantic bumblebees, there's just something endearing about them (probably the only moth I can say that about). Jane: Does that chipmunk have a short tail or is it just the angle? I've noticed that I have at least two different chippies visiting my deck; one with a short tail and one with a long tail. I'd thought that maybe a predator had bitten off the tip of the short tail, but it could be genetic. The squirrels here come in two types - one type has a regular full tail, the other has a skinny tail (evolving into a rat?) Guthrie has been quiet lately. Possibly he noticed that I've moved all of the defoliated phlox to a new Phlox Protection Zone, fenced to keep him out. There's one phlox blooming there that he missed. Claire (trying out the new GW photo uploading feature. I just edited and rearranged my post and had to re-enter the photo file) Phlox Protection Zone

That's a beautiful series of photos of your catbirds, Jane. They look like a garden ornament perched atop the shepherd's hook. We have catbirds. Their catlike calls are one of the few birdsongs I recognize. Mr Tunnels! Ha ha! Great name! Claire, your dragon looks wonderful in his new tri-colored metallic coat of scales. In addition to being the summer of the trees here, it also is shaping into another summer of the birds, even more so than last year. The house finches have babies in last year's swallow nest on the outside ledge under the porch roof. I think the female is building a second nest in the nestbox inside the porch while Dad cares for the first batch of babies. The barn swallows meantime are feeding little ones in the original ancestral swallow nest inside the porch. And, oblivious to the nesting birds, the hummingbirds are constant visitors to the nectar feeder hanging from the eaves. All these different birds, and others (goldfinches and occasional Baltimore orioles) perch on the branches of our crabapple tree in the front yard, and they look like brightly colored jewels amidst the pink blossoms. I really need to take some pictures with a better camera. In the barn, a pair of tufted titmice have refurbished their nest from several years ago and are in some stage of rearing little titmice. They are supposed to be cavity dwellers, but I guess their nook up in the eaves is close enough. Their nests are such delicate affairs with moss siding, like filigree. Perhaps the nicest surprise is that I have a pair of tree swallows nesting in my birdhouse, on the sawed-off utility pole out in my "orange garden." I had boarded up the entry hole to the house in frustration during my battle with the English sparrows. Since I hadn't seen an English sparrow in several years, I cautiously unblocked the door, hoping for bluebirds or tree swallows, and my wishes were rewarded. With the birds in residence on the porch, I scheduled the house painting until August or September, explaining to the head painter that his guys could just take down the nests prior to painting because the birds would be gone then. He asked "Do you want us to try to remove the nests so they can be put back up?" I replied, "No... demolition!" His somewhat relieved reply: "Ah demolition! That's a word I understand!" LOL! It made me laugh! These birds are master carpenters. They will rebuild next year from scratch, I've no doubt.

Well, we are battered, bruised, flooded, and missing a few shingles but we are not broken! We shall overcome... Whew, this was a tough one. Just didn't want to end. Today, our cove still has white caps; but the water has retreated (mostly). It has left behind washed out roads, not just downed trees but missing trees...just gone out to sea, battered landscaping, paint stripped from our houses from a saltwater powerwash, flooded basements galore (we don't have a basement), and hundreds of tired utility workers. DH has been out working on clean-up since daybreak. The sun is shining & we're got a comparatively light breeze @ 15 mph. The town's emergency management team has been out looking at our street discussing whether it can be patched or will required regrading and a total redo. The biggest concern though is we have lost a significant piece of land from our cove to erosion. It's estuary marsh land so very difficult, if not impossible, to repair. It means that the next storm will have an easier time pushing inland. The water's only about 30' from the road now for around a 75' stretch and, basically, at equal elevation. Not much safety net. We lost about 10-15'. It's so tranquil today it's hard to believe the heavy weather of the past 3 days. We've even got a mated pair of swans back on our cove. I hope they didn't have a nest that was washed away. Our osprey's haven't yet returned to their nests to lay this year's eggs. A couple weeks later and this storm would have wiped them out. magothyrivergirl, yes, I know what you are talking about with the boats taking a hit this winter. We've got damage everywhere...shrink wrapping torn to shreds, damaged docks, lifts toppled, even seawall breaches. Spring commissioning this year will be more repair work than getting fun new biminis or a new BBQ to hang off the stern. Hope everybody else made it through OK. I know there are thousands here in New England that have serious damage and will be months recovering. We consider ourselves Blessed that the house is still sitting on the same site it was a week ago. Actually, I feel lucky we even have a site left. /tricia