The dog is writhing on the living room floor and punctuating that activity with long, high-pitched cries.  He is not sick, although he could be described as under the weather.  In short, he got rained on.      We’d gone a few blocks on our morning constitutional when the grey sky began to leak.  No problem. … Continue reading Wet Dog and Butterfly

Weather history was made right here in Ann Arbor today.  The Ann Arbor Art Fair is going on now.  It covers thirty city blocks and features a thousand artists.  By time-honored tradition, it also, seemingly without fail, features the worst weather of the summer.  The organizers even fiddled with the dates one year, to no… Continue reading Weather History

Mosey was the top speed Sue and I hit on our walk around the neighborhood today, as the weather continued hot and muggy.  Turns out mosey is a fine speed for admiring things.  On Georgetown, for instance, we stopped to admire a monarch butterfly feeding on the milkweed in someone’s garden.  It was picture perfect,… Continue reading Sue Takes Pictures

This morning’s walk was a double double.  Burrito was the first.  The neighbor’s two kids passed us, chugging up the hill as Rascal and I were going down it.  The kids were, ostensibly, walking the family’s puppy.  In truth, it wasn’t obvious who was walking whom.  The pup is a Great Dane that joined the… Continue reading Double Double

At this time of year every year, as we near the Fourth of July, flowers at our house turn red, white, and blue.  Or the floral equivalent thereof—blue is hard to come by in flowers.  Unlike the neighbor down the street, who plants a patriotically themed garden every year, I can take no credit for… Continue reading Summer Signs

     Some roads are scenic.  Some are direct.  In 1959, the city of Ann Arbor planned Huron Parkway to be both.   The boulevard links north to south on the city’s east side, traversing the Huron River and one of the city’s golf courses and passing various parks and nature areas.  For much of its length,… Continue reading The Human Thermometer

Last Sunday afternoon, there were hula dancers at the downtown branch of Ann Arbor’s library.  The talented young women from Polynesian Dancers of Michigan also performed traditional dance forms of Tahiti, Samoa, and New Zealand.  Their teacher explained the basics of each style and, at points in the program, gave a lesson to all members… Continue reading Hula at the Library

Pretty much everyone in our area has symptoms.  Your nose runs constantly while you’re outdoors.  Or your throat is sore every day.  Or your eyes bother you all the time; sometimes they outright sting.  The weather’s been fine.  What gives?      It’s smoke.  Canada, our cherished neighbor, is on fire.  Winds carry the smoke our… Continue reading Finn and Archie

Sycamore trees have distinctive bark.  It has a mottled appearance that makes those unfamiliar with sycamores wonder after the health of the tree.  As there are a lot of sycamores in our neighborhood, all of which seem to be thriving, we have ample opportunity to admire them.  Their bark isn’t as elastic as the bark… Continue reading Sycamore Bark

The world smells fabulous these days.  Lilacs, peonies, and irises are all in bloom, lending their scents to the pervasive perfume of spring.  In addition, we’ve had a lot of rain, and the earth itself smells fecund, lush.  This is a smell my sisters and I love, having grown up in a land of lake… Continue reading Pecking Order