Late July

(Photo by Katy Buchanan)

It's late Thursday, the third of three cool, dry days after a bucket-drenching rain on Monday in Pittsburgh. (I'm keeping track on my 2019 desk calendar, and 'bucket-drenching rain' is showing up a lot.)

A hummingbird just skimmed in front of my living room window and front screen door ... I'm puzzled because the lobelia is on one side of the house and the hummer feeder is on the back side, so not sure what that little guy was looking for. Except, now that I have seen this, my front porch pots next year definitely will not be papyrus.

I love June; it is so full of promise and goes by so fast. One phenomenon I've enjoyed this year, really late into the summer season is fireflies. They appeared in the back yard in mid- to late June and kept flashing into mid-July. We don't treat our lawns for anything, so maybe that's why. The back yard has a deep, dark slope and it is really magical seeing those golden firefly flickers late into the midsummer night.

Anyway, we are now almost at the end of July, when the season starts to end. I hate that I can already see September, and that back-to-school ads are popping up online and in print circulars.

One thing I've noticed over the years: Early summer is so quiet. By late July the crickets and katydids are doing their buzz and hum. That's how you know the season is changing.

The photo is of Stargazer lilies, at my mom's house. I think the vase is as pretty as the flowers.