Rains restore clover supply

(plus a new essay from Belle)

This morning I was happy to see my new essay on bats and the administrative state published in the New York Times. I wrote it July 8, right after the events described in the essay, but have revised it a few times to keep up with the fast-changing news cycle.

Since writing it:

-Joe Biden has stepped down, and Kamala Harris has stepped up. My neighbor David and I can’t wait to get our Harris signs.

-Roy Cooper has also stepped aside in the Democratic VP race, mostly to keep this man from running the state in his absence. (Who do you like for VP? I’m pretty excited about Tim Walz’s background as a teacher and support for universal free lunch.)

-Everyone I know is energized to get out the Democratic vote!

-Richard and I are fully vaccinated against rabies. (One of the ER nurses told me he’d been through four rounds of rabies vaccines.)

I also wanted to tell you that all the recent rain has proven me wrong about summer clovers—or maybe we’re just extra-lucky at the moment. This week, Harriet, our friend Claire, and I have all found four and five-leaf clovers while barely looking for them.

Here’s one from my run this morning, in case you need it:

This weekend I’ll post some early dates for our Plant Pets book tour—all free, and some with opportunities to craft or take home a plant. And one that will even have homemade pickles!

Here is the garden this afternoon:

Here are some tadpoles (found by our neighbor Ellen) that we’re raising:

Here’s an icebox watermelon we hope to eat soon (a future sparkle, as Harriet would say):

Stay cool, Frog Troublers.