Even the Animals Showed Up

I think August is one of my favorite times of the year. An odd choice some would say, but I have valid reasons. Allow me to enumerate.

1. We are well into summer, which is my favorite season. August is hot and I like the heat. It can wear you down, but I also find there is something very cleansing and pure about a good, dry heat.

2. The kids are comfortable in their summer schedule. Summer school, if attended, is over by August. The routine of summer is established and everyone knows what they should be doing and when. In my family, we sometimes have trouble with transitional periods, so getting into a little groove is a good thing.

3. The Summer Reading Program is over at work. I really enjoy it each year, but I don't enjoy the librarian ego dramas that can rage. It is the stupidest thing ever, but in the end I think it is because people drawn to children's services take their jobs seriously...even though it is really, really fun.

4. With things going more smoothly at home and work, there is time to do fun things. For example, in a conversation yesterday it was decided that the desks and activity rooms in the library should be renamed in honor of Cartoon Appreciation Week. I won't go over the whole list, but you should all know that for now, I work in the Wile E. Coyote Public Library.Our motto? We never win, but we are really persistent!

5. When I was looking for that image of Wile E. Coyote, I remembered that last week I saw a coyote running really fast up the street in Arcadia. He was a beautiful creature and it was a little shocking to see how far down he'd wandered. He seemed to be running in the right direction, though, to get back to the foothills. Is this a reason to like August? Maybe.

6. Last night around 9:30, I was walking back to my apartment from the laundry room and I practically ran right into a skunk!Suddenly he was right there! When I realized what I was seeing I stopped walking and put my hand to my mouth to stifle the little shriek that almost slipped out. Startling him would have been regrettable. I stood still and just let him amble into the bushes. When he seemed safely hidden away I crept past. Is this a good reason to like August? Maybe.

Well, those last two are stretches. The animals do wander down more in the summer. They are seeking water and food. That isn't a good thing...we've enroached quite a bit on their territory and of course I don't like to think of them hungry and wandering the streets. Not good for them, not good for people. But seeing them...I don't know. It's kind of cool and we don't get that so much around here...the occasional skunk, possum, coyote, and most alarmingly the bears that sometimes appear.

This summer, so far, has definitely had it's ups and downs. Right now though it is August and life is pretty close to awesome for me. So...check in with me, would you? How are you anyway? Be honest. :-)