Will Autumn Ever Arrive?

It still feels like summer out here. Daily highs continue to reach well into the 90s, but we have had a few cloudy days. There is a small chance of rain each day as well, but never more than a 20% chance. We have not had any rainfall at all. Our entire area is now in the "Extreme" drought designated area.

I wish we could get some rain, but I do love our beautiful skies with their cotton ball clouds.

I don't know what is going on with the hummingbirds, but those little rascals are active. For the past few days, we've seen no fewer than 6 hummers each time we sit on the back patio, and those little fellows are buzzing and darting about everywhere. They've even come zooming between Donna and me on a couple of occasions. Well, we need to enjoy them while we can because they won't be here much longer.

The bur oak tree in our front yard is simply loaded with huge acorns. Each year, we gather them and strew them about the back yard to attract the deer. They come into the yard during the night and have a feast. This year, it looks as though the squirrels have discovered our acorn crop. There is a pile of acorn debris in the front yard at the base of the tree, as if a squirrel sits in the nook and enjoys his meal with remains falling below. If you've never seen an acorn from a bur oak, they are quite large. In an entry posted almost a year ago, I provided a picture to demonstrate how much larger they are than regular acorns. See "Those Are Some Big Acorns" if you are interested.

A partial limb from our bur oak, with several acorns visible.

Average size bur oak acorns with my hand as a point of comparison for size.

Donna and I went to the movies the other day. We saw the newest Brad Pitt movie, Ad Astra. It's an enjoyable movie, but I felt there were some gaps in places. It sort of reminded me of a space age version of Apocalypse Now. Pitt plays a character who parallels the Martin Sheen character in the earlier movie. He sets out to find his father (played by Tommy Lee Jones), an astronaut who has gone rogue -- like Martin Brando went rogue in the earlier movie --  and is hanging around Neptune causing problems. The movie shows an interesting view of what future space travel may well be like. It's a movie worth watching if you enjoy sci-fi movies.

During a recent drive through Spring Creek Park at Lake Nasworthy, we noticed these turkeys.

Close up of turkeys from above picture

Black squirrel near turkeys. These little rascals are all over the park. Many are much darker. 

After the movie, we went to Red Lobster for their shrimp fest. I tried to keep up with Donna, but when she ordered her third helping of shrimp, I had to throw in the towel. I simply don't know where the little thing puts all that food, but she puts it somewhere. I was a bit embarrassed when folks started taking pictures and videos of her.