Suddenly, Summer

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013 – Suddenly, Summer

Such freakishly bizarre weather here, with temperatures in the low 80s yesterday and approaching 90 today.  I decided it would be too hot for a third walk around the Tidal Basin.  Instead, I settled for a walk through the woods yesterday.   There was some drama playing out in the treetops.  I spotted a couple of turkey vultures overhead.  And while I was trudging up the path, I had a pretty close encounter with Mr. Fox, who was crossing the path a short distance ahead of me.  He stopped for a fraction of a second and stared at me, then bolted off into the brush.  It all happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to panic.  This afternoon, the only reason I ventured out was to visit a few of my favorite weeping cherry trees before their delicate blossoms succumbed to the intense heat.  I am now officially blossomed out.  

 

Much earlier this morning, I was out doing my annual garden clean-up.  This involves cutting back the liriope before the new growth appears and hacking off the advancing arms of some very aggressive juniper.  And as long as I was sitting in the dirt, I went ahead and started pulling out some of the numerous weeds in the front flower beds.  I really love weeding.  Unlike so many other gardening tasks, like planting trees or seeds, which require endless waiting, weeding provides instant gratification.  You pull a weed, and it’s gone!  By the time I stopped, I had filled up one of those enormous plastic trash bags and felt immensely satisfied.  So weeding is actually very therapeutic.  But please don’t ask me to come over and weed your garden.  I’ve done enough for one year.