I am on bended knee begging forgiveness. I have sullied the reputation of ground squirrels with my allegations of peach pilfering.

There was joyful noise in the house yesterday, children were underfoot while adults worked in the kitchen. The neighbors, even though they live fifty miles away, came to help me, a solitary soul can his fruit.

Yesterday, I was fretting about squirrels and peaches. Today, it’s elves. I did laundry yesterday and I have no idea where all those clothes came from.

Here we go. Summer. The morning air is hot and heavy. With no rain, it will keep building like this, until one morning it will feel like I’m living in an oven.

On my drive home from Marble Falls yesterday, I saw the tail end of a large rainbow touching the ground. It was off toward the east where the rain was falling, created by the sun, low in the west.

Yesterday, however, as I settled into my chair after breakfast and turned on the tunes. I had a thought. What if, rather than building a refuge, I’d actually built a prison.

At one point after high school, I worked for Ma Bell. We worked in teams of two. I was the junior member, obviously. We listened to a lot of radio, mostly country, but some talk, and the talk was always Paul Harvey. Those guys loved Paul. I liked his stories, too.

Drove across the rain-soaked hills of the Devil’s Backbone yesterday evening after listening to music with two friends at a local brewery.

Two projects are on tap today. A pool hose needs replacing, no big deal. New speakers need to be installed in the ceiling, big deal.

I put on a long sleeve shirt and worked in the yard day Friday I needed the shirt because I was hauling brush. I have a deal with my arborist son. He trims; I haul.

Last year, I let some poke salat grow in my garden. The plant was enormous with lovely purple berries. At the end of the season, I cut it down, hauled it off, and decided it was a noble experiment, but I didn’t want to repeat it.

I’m happy to report I made it home in one piece, which sort of goes without saying, since I’m writing this.

I traveled a once well-traveled road yesterday.

There are two cabinets over the washing machine, two cabinets over the dryer, with three shelves each.

I had a great day yesterday, and I feel good. Listened to live music. Got lots of positive vibes. Had the birthday song sung to me, twice.

It’s my birthday. Seventy-five. Three quarters of a century. I’ve seen a lot of history. Don Larsen threw a perfect game. Mays robbed Wertz. The Marines escaped Chosin.

I never expected to be well into July and hoping for a dry day. But I am. I walked out to feed the cats this morning, and there it was, drizzle.

There is probably of law of physics that speaks to the acceleration of a six year old boy as it relates to his physical proximity to the adult male charged with looking out for him.

This is nice. Children are in the house. Pallets are on the floor. Sleepers are all around.

Yesterday evening, as my day was winding down, I thought briefly about calling a friend. But I realized the hour was late and the call could wait.