March 14, 2006

Note: Google has "improved" Blogger and now for some reason my text is blue and underlined. I cannot change it. But here is my post:

It suddenly became summer, after a mostly-cold winter (January was one of the coldest on record). No transition, just one day it was so cold we had to have the heat on all day, and the next day it was in the eighties. A little weird, but all my plants are loving it, putting out new leaves and stems like crazy, and the citrus are starting to bloom with that incredible sensual scent that to me defines Spring in Tucson. (My picture for this post is grapefruit blossoms. Wish I could somehow attach the perfume.)

The climbing rose in the backyard that I thought had been assassinated by critters put forth leaves and stems, and then a rabbit or something got to it. We have now re-surrounded it with chicken wire, securely staked down. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the leaf-cutter ants will leave it alone and it will finally start to cimb the trellis.

The animals are also starting to realize that it is Sex Season. Male birdies are chasing the females, and I expect to see nesting activity soon. I think it is a good thing that humans don't mate only during a certain time of the year. Can you imagine, say, if you're trying to sell a book, you'd have to work everything around avoiding the rutting season. Actually, if you're in any kind of business at all, except maybe the singles business, nobody would pay any attention to anything unless it helped get them laid. And come to think of it, things are like that already in some respects.