News in Brief

News in brief as of July 19th:

• A red-shouldered hawk has taken up residence and our rabbit population, which was out of this world, seems to have declined dramatically.
• There are moles in the front yard and now in the back garden. They are leaving large mounds of soil in the lawn. They are unstoppable.
• It is hot and the mosquitoes are bad.
• A cold front is to move through tonight, perhaps violently, and we should experience cooler (low 80's!) and drier conditions.
• I love the summer for its wonderful variety of fruit -- just had a great cantaloupe for breakfast. Plums are plentiful in the markets and are to be found in great variety. Unfortunately our local peach crop was decimated after a very warm spell in the late winter followed by an unusually cold freeze of several days in early spring when the peach trees were in bloom. This is a great loss to both orchards and eaters, as the local peaches are generally a highlight of late July and August.
• I recently finished the fascinating book FLU by Gina Kolata on the 1918 flu pandemic that killed more people around the world than were killed in the whole of World War 1. It is a fascinating look at a horrible plague that raced around the globe and the scientific detective work done over the years to determine its source and why it was so deadly, particularly for those usually able to overcome the flu: people in their 20's, 30's and 40's. I'm anxious to read more on the same topic.

All for now. More soon.