SING IT, SISTER!

In case by some weird occurrence you haven't heard this yet, give it a listen.

The woman is 57 year old (!!!) Regina Ballard, a front desk receptionist at a North Carolina high school.

She announced the beginning of summer break this way.

What pipes!

As SWMBO said, she may not be a receptionist for long.

ONCE AGAIN . . . SUMMERTIME!

In case you didn't believe those high temperatures recently, or those tornadoes, or those flood-causing downpours . . . here's the news.

Summer is here.

As the sun rose over Stonehenge and the crowds of tourists, Wiccans and Druids the Summer Solstice began.

I don't have any stone monoliths like those to worship but we will share in the longest day of the year.

What that means is 14 hours and 29 minutes of sunlight today.

Sunrise was at 5:16 this morning and the glowing orb won't sink until 7:45 this evening.

The weather gods tell us the mercury will rise to 91 degrees Fahrenheit (about 33 Celsius) at the official weather station at the Prescott Airport.

That's around 6 miles from where I live and a bit higher in elevation which means it will be warmer here.

SWMBO would say "hotter" but I prefer "warmer" as a less perjorative term.

When we repair to the patio to sit and gawk at study the muralized fence I also prefer to describe the still 80+ degree evenings as "balmy".

She would more likely describe ME as "balmy", in a different definition of the word.

Whatever.

Happy Summer to you all.

Don't forget your sun screen!

PROGRESS REPORT ON THE MURAL

It's been awhile since I've updated SWMBO's progress on the mural she's painting on our junky old backyard fence.

She said it was so ugly she hated sitting out there staring at it.

So she began to transform it, this way.

I was doing frequent updates as the painting went along but she asked me to stop for awhile.

She said she was feeling too much pressure.

And then her shoulder flared up and after several shots of cortisone (or something like it) her doctor told her to lay off the painting for 48 hours or more.

But now it's (the muralized fence) well along and she agreed to allow me to give you all a progress report.

The photos were taken last night.

As you can see, she's added a mountain lake, a road coming down from the peaks, some trees here and there, and the first two of a group of hot air balloons.

And then there's this.

Those brownish-blackish shapes in front of the tall trees on the right edge of the panorama.

She said she intended them to be bushes.

I said it looks more like a pack of grizzly bears.

We then agreed that since this was originally intended to be a work of impressionism, you Gentle Readers and Art Critics can take them for whatever you like.

(Catalyst slinks away, growling!)

Stay tuned.

MONDAY MELODIES

Back in the good times.

(sigh)

SOME RAVEN-OUS BIRDS

There are at least six ravens that live at the Tower of London.

There's an old superstition that says if they ever leave, the British monarchy and subsequently Britain will fall.

But modern historians say that's merely a figment of someone's imagination.

Regardless, the flight wings on one side are clipped to keep the ravens from flying away.

Other than that the birds are well cared for by a Ravenmaster and the Yeoman Warders.

All of which brings me to the true story, not legend, of the StoneRidge ravens.

The photos come from the true resident of the house, my friend StoneRidge Lori.

It is the bird bath in front of her house that seems to attract them.

The "bubbler" really seems to fascinate them.

One of the rascals decided it was a floating raft and decided to go for a ride on it.

The other one dipped a toe in the water to see what the temperature was.

Lori says she has to clean the birdbath frequently because the ravens bring their food there, apparently to wash it.

So she finds all or parts of mice or lizards and on the day when the trash dumpsters are set out for pickup it can be whatever the ravens have scavenged.

One day she said she looked out and there were two large pieces of french bread in the birdbath ravens' restaurant.

This guy seems to be saying, "Hey, what happened to my breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Is that what he's saying?

Or is he just laughing at the silly humans who are entertained by a bubbler in a birdbath.

We shall never know for sure.

Nevermore.

(Tower of London raven photo by Historical Royal Palaces.  All other photos by L. Lewis.)

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Yeah, me too.

All right, Gentle Readers, it's time once again to reflect, rest and rejuvenate.

It's time to put your cares and worries aside for awhile and let those wrinkles laugh lines take over your countenance.

It's time for The Friday Funnies!

Yay!

Wahoo!

Play ball!

All right you cheery, chuckling, chortling chumps . . . the command from the top is: have yourself a merry little weekend.

All right, all right, ENOUGH!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, man, I may have to check her prints.)

HERE COMES THE MONSOON

The Prescott Daily Courier's ace reporter, Cindy Barks, had a story in the newspaper today about the drought conditions in Arizona.

Here in our immediate area, she reported, we've had only a little more than two and a quarter inches of rain in the past 9 months.

That compares to about 13 and a third inches the year before.

And it makes 2018's "water year" the driest since 1898!

Tell that to your climate change deniers.

But the monsoon season is on its way, partially courtesy of Tropical Storm Bud now off the southern tip of Baja California, pushing moisture north through Southern Arizona.

Here in the Prescott area that gives us about a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms by Friday night.

I changed my header picture to encourage it.

But the rain, if it comes, will only be around for a couple of days.

As any local knows, the monsoon season doesn't officially begin until the 4th of July.