August 1--Much Danger--Very Wow!

[zyzyly]

I'm sitting out in the back yard, where it is a slightly breezy 62 degrees. Music is coming through the open windows as I air out the house. We seem to have missed the worst of the hot weather here, and the temps are down to the low 90s, which is tolerable. Strangely enough, I miss the humidity of Southeast Asia.

I'm drinking some coffee I brought back from Laos, which was grown in the Bolaven Plateau. It's good. I love Laotian coffee. The next time we are there, we will go back to Laos and visit that area, which, in addition to coffee, has some great waterfalls. I think our time in Laos was among the best aspects of the trip. I still have 500,000 Kip, so I'm ready to go.

I went in to work yesterday. I was there by 7, and worked on the lectures I had to give last evening to the summer group. Once I had them done I graded some assignments they submitted last week. I came home and took a nap, and went back at 4 for office hours and for the class, which runs from 5-9. There are only 10 students in the cohort, so it's kind of a refreshing change to lecture to a small group, who seem to be engaged for the most part. We finished a bit early, and I was home by 9. Malida had to go to work this morning at 4 am, so she was already asleep. I read my book for a while and that was that.

Today is my free day. I don't have anything to do, and I don't have to answer to anyone for anything. I've been around people for the past 4 weeks, so it is great to have a day to myself. Not sure what I want to do with it. Maybe think about how to spend the balance of the summer. I am thinking about another garden project, but not sure whether it will manifest in the back yard or on the front patio.

I took a walk out along the creek trail the other day. The turtles were nowhere to be seen, but there were all sorts of hummingbirds flying around all over the place. I took some pictures, but they were kind of blurry.



This, I believe, is a pied-billed grebe. I have never seen one before along the creek, but they are supposed to be common pretty much everywhere. There were a couple of them.



A cautionary sign on gate along the creek trail. Duly noted.



My egret friend.

Comments

[asakiyume]

The warning on the fence is in the Shiba-inu doge meme style. Interesting!

I totally understand missing the humidity. It's an embrace by the atmosphere that feels almost animal-like, living. I love humidity.

[zyzyly]

Interesting about that meme--Now it makes me wonder!

[gurdonark]

Growing up in south Arkansas also gave me a fondness for humidity, though the Arkansas humidity was less like what I imagine Laos to be and more just like pine forests with 99 percent Summer humidity.

[zyzyly]

The thing about humidity, much like the Sacramento "dry heat", is that you have to just accept it as the way it is, and once you do that, it becomes tolerable.

[anita_margarita]

"Much danger very wow?"