Kind of Cloudy

We had another dry spell followed by a massive rain event, one that dumped close to four inches of rain on us last night. I'm not an "official" NOAA rain gauge, but if I were, we might have set a record for rainfall rates. As with last time, our system of ditches and drains moved the standing water off and back towards Belmore overnight, and this morning the yard had no standing puddles. I even headed out for a run on the road, which was soft in places, but not bad. The work Kenny and Fox have done has held up.

I haven't felt that great today and I'm glad I don't have as many things on my to-do list. I sleep well during the night but I also want to sleep a lot during the day. It leaves me wondering if my body "wants" to catch up on some sort of major sleep debt. I've read that you can't really do that, and it's best to stick to a routine sleep and wake time, but lately I feel like if I want a nap and I have nothing pressing to do, I'm going to take a nap. And it doesn't seem to be interfering with my ability to sleep at night.

I keep thinking about getting some guinea fowl, mainly for tick control. That would require us to build them a coop where they can stay safe overnight, but they might be all right during the day. Several of our neighbors allow their poultry to just run around as they please, which is how I sometimes wind up with domestic turkeys in my yard. The turkeys seem to like to wander, but the flocks of chickens tend to stick close to their homes. But then, having a coop already built would make it easier to acquire some regular egg-laying chickens. Hmm.

The Seminole pumpkins are growing like gangbusters. True to form, they're thriving in the heat and humidity. The trellis was a great idea for them, since the vines like to wander. I have at least five small pumpkins starting to form, and three new blossoms this morning. Last time I grew these, any that formed outside the fence got nibbled to death by animals, but the ones inside the fence were okay. I'm still going to have to buy some stockings, since the gourds will be a bit heavy, and I've seen people use those knee-high hose to make little hammocks to support the pumpkins. They're also shading the soil underneath nicely so next time around I'll probably rework the trellis to also grow beans in there.

Since I'm feeling a little better I'm going to try to get some drawing time in.

And Now, the Weather

"It's a Stray" on DeviantArt

St. Felix, FL.
Eagle Lake area residents are again reporting unusual nightime activity after a quiet year. Calls to the County Sherriff's non-emergency line include complaints of bright lights, booming sounds, and missing trees. Resident Cathy McMannis stated during a town council meeting that the light and noise seemed to be coming from the unoccupied end of (redacted) Road, where property has been for sale going on a decade with no takers.

Also present at the council meeting was Garret Bryson, chief operations officer at the Eagle Lake Sand Plant, who stated that, "It's not us. We aren't blasting, we aren't setting fires, y'all can stop calling the guard shack because it's not us."

Despite the return of what locals are calling the "Lake Lights," Fourth of July celebrations will go on as usual, barring inclement weather.