Idle Summer Thoughts

Like most of the rest of Michigan, we have slipped into the fullness of summer here in Van Buren County. The corn is as high as, well, maybe not the elephant's eye, but certainly his elbow. Young rabbits are everywhere, making me think of renaming the months according to their most noteworthy features. Julius Caesar has been gone for a long time, but hundreds of bunnies are risking their young lives on the roads now. I would rename July Leveret. Yes, I know the word leveret refers to a European hare in its first year, but leveret is such a great word, isn't it? It deserves to come out and play more often. Or I could call it Nuthatch Moon, for the broods of noisy nuthatch fledglings chasing their parents through the trees in our yard as I am writing this. Or Blueberry Moon. Goodness knows, blueberries are a striking feature of July. Or maybe I won't name the month at all. Maybe I will just let it be what it will, let it define itself by its own events, playing its part as the wheel of the seasons turns.

Yummy!