Summer has landed.

#073

Saturday evening, I made a fire in the front yard and watched the lightning bugs put on a spectacular show. Bats flew overhead as the tree frog serenade was interrupted by the cross-ridge conversation between two barred owls.

The day before, I weeded the garden and was surprised by how quickly things have taken off. I didn’t put anything in the ground until June 1 this year, which was about three weeks later than usual.

The rain has not only helped the garden explode, but it’s brought on a bounty of Chanterelle mushrooms. Last year, I filled a five-gallon bucket with mushrooms in about an hour of walking the ridge.

Unfortunately, the rain also brought high water to local creeks and rivers in addition to flash flooding in our neighboring counties to the south. This video of Coal River (below) was made earlier today and is three quarters of a mile from our house as the crow flies.

This evening, I drove down to Boone and Logan counties to deliver some water and cleaning supplies. I saw lots of folks out helping their neighbors. There is a lot of devastation along Route 17, but folks are already hard at work cleaning and mucking out their homes. Please keep these folks in your prayers.

Despite the heaviness of the evening, I managed to see beauty along the way. Near the Mountain Laurel mine complex, I saw a doe and her fawn cross the railroad tracks (below) before working their way up the mountain.

At lunch today, I visited Taylor Books in Charleston and picked up a copy of Werner Herzog’s The Future of Truth. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Thanks for reading this week’s (late) newsletter. I really appreciate your support. Whether you’re a paid subscriber, you tell someone about this newsletter, or see me out in the world and tell me you like what you read and see (or any combination of the sort), you are very much appreciated.

Happy summer,

- Roger