I saw fireflies in the back garden this evening while listening to crickets and tree frogs; maintaining the mini-meadow between the house and the wetland woods seems to be paying off. Seek tells me that some of the plants are native even; perhaps there will be asters and goldenrod blooming in a few months. For now there are daisies and daylilies, both introduced / naturalized I know, but seeing them bloom for the solstice is a seasonal touchstones.

Local birdsong is all residents now. I hear wrens and robins and woodpeckers daily while the feeders host the usual suspects, from chickadees to cardinals to finches to nuthatches to titmice and more, with an occasional rose-breasted grosbeak to bring the bling. No squirrels though, at least not on the feeders. This spring we upgraded with better poles and baffles and moved the suet to a hanging tail-prop cage. So far that's all been working as hoped.

Monday we installed a new rain barrel, so of course it hasn't really rained since. Looks like that will change tomorrow but I've enjoyed having a few long days that felt like June, at least in part. That afternoon we met a friend for sushi al fresco and ice cream likewise, getting a jump on our usual solstice feast. The later afternoon and evening turned pleasantly golden even.

The next three days were all about cleaning, both inside and out. Much like there's always more laundry, there's always more pruning. Yesterday things were finally dry enough to strim and trim enough of the back "lawn" to easily access the veg garden (due for its own update), and enough of the front and side strips to make it look like people live here.

Today there were also local strawberries. In and among all the sadness and stress of the year so far have been some bluer skies and better things. Those will have to do.