Took a hot, mid-day walk today, again to clear my head. No one out in the heat, much. The ground is sere, the trees dropping leaves early- this reminds me, today, of a woman I roomed with once, a tall, very thin dancer, whose hair all fell out when she was pregnant, her body opting to feed with scant resources the new life inside her instead of the older one. The tree is much the same, dropping the temporary to sustain the future. If only legislators could adopt a similar strategy- I passed a man fishing, a crumpled Stag beer can on the ground behind him. A few critters- turtles, green heron, cicada buzzing in a river birch. Earthquake near DC yesterday- a friend there said another friend proposed an End Times party, all in fun, but sometimes one wonders-

Green heron and turtle

Turtle, hanging out

Buzzing cicada

The only flower that has enough water right now.