Already June

Lots is always happening. June 1 = we had what I call "schoolbus duty". Second to last day of school of our 3 here and they only had a half-day which means school let out 3 hours early and neither of the parents could be home to receive them. 

We had made plans about what we could do with them but they just wanted to chill. Understandable too. After a while Caleb wanted to be outside to get some exercise. The three started to play soccer. You could here other kids in the neighborhood playing outside and Caleb asked whether I could go to friends' house but soon other kids came to our yard. Children came and went, it was like there was a revolving door. So much fun. 

After playing some serious soccer for quite some time they all piled into the screened porch and looked at Caleb's and Owen's school computers. Colin had been so hopeful that this was the day (at the end of Kindergarden and before first grade) when he could bring a school computer home for summer. The twins are in parallel classes and of course it was Owen (who cared less) who got his to bring home. The one who really cared will get his the next day.

James and I watched out of the front windows. It is not easy to see but Cooper, the puppy, is on the front porch watching the deer which is carefully and slowly walking across the front yard. Cooper is a bird hunting dog and didn't take his eyes off.

Few days later, when James and I returned back to our house after doing our walk, we saw a hawk on the very tip of our house. 

Here is the cropped version. 

So interesting to watch.

June 6 ... It is a Tuesday and it is summer. The boys started swim training and every Tuesday there will be a swim meet. We watched several heats when at least one of ours was in it. James and I remembered when our two girls participated in the Calvert City swim team ... for several years ... and I was helping either taking time, keeping records or writing ribbons. It was a good time.

And of course it was time to think about William's visit. Mangos! One of his favorite things to eat. Every day I was checking whether they were getting riper. Not quite ready yet!

Most days we can eat our lunch now on the back patio. We love sitting under the awning, watching the birds and admiring our new roses. We just can't get over how the buds and flowers of "Joseph's Coat" change colors every day. Mostly they start out as almost yellow buds, look a bit orange or pinkish and then turn redder. It is very difficult to discribe.

And this was yesterday Wednesday June 14. We were having lunch and suddenly I saw a turtle (most likely the same we saw a few days ago in the front first with the boys and then the following day) in the back yard. Since I want to have more and more perennials now I had not planted much at the end of the long bed on the left. We went to have a closer look and I thought that if the turtle was looking for food there was not much.

I ran into the kitchen to get some salad and James put it down. We went back to our seat so not to disturb. Nothing happened for quite a while. 

After a while we decided to watch from the sunroom to not disturb her. Somehow I got suspicious that it was a female turtle, it looked like she had dug a bit in the mulch and dirt so we decided to give her some privacy. And I tried to take a VIDEO too but it was quite far away and through the window.

As I am writing this already on the road (see next blog), I have no proper WiFi and can't "clean up" the video. I had started it from the window, nothing much seemed to be happening but suddenly I saw her using her hindlegs (probably to cover the nest again) and then she walks off quickly but rests close-by. I "googled" on all sorts of questions I had and found some good explanations which fit the situation. I actually almost wrote a proper report but decided that I might bore you. After all, you can read up on it if you want to. For us it was quite exciting.

Couple of hours later I was looking for her. The end of the flower bed has a drop off like a little wall and I was worried that she might fall down. I found her though having buried herself. This too is normal when a turtle gets too hot in the summer. You can see just one little yellow dot of her shell in the middle of the photo.

 Before we left next morning I tried to take a quick look. She was not in the above spot but two or three feet away totally "above ground". Could not stay to see what happened next.