For me June is a time of endings and beginnings: spring's final fertile blast followed in short order by summertime's first tentative embrace of stifling heat & humidity. The first of June found me saying goodbye to my music teacher, Larissa, on the last day of class. I took one last ride on her miniature horse, Sigrid, before our final departure:
Summer's approach means spending increasing amounts of time outside in the sunshine and fresh air with friends:
Hot weather also brings with it the threat of violent weather. We dodged a bullet when several big limbs were felled by lightning and dropped close to the house. Somehow I slept through the entire incident:
The storm took away our power that night, so we ended up eating dinner at a nearby sandwich shop.
Mom and Dad eventually relented and allowed me to purchase the world's largest Italian cold cut sub:
The weather finally heated up enough for us to go swimming for the first time this year alfresco.
Here I am next to some tall timber at the local pool:
Summertime also means a lot of fun free events at the big outdoor plaza downtown. Local officials really outdid themselves when they brought Wendy, the Singing Scientist, and Flumpa, the Tree Frog, to entertain and educate:
I got into a bit of trouble when Dad caught me trying to steal a necklace from a lady when she wasn't looking:
As punishment Dad forced me to walk the plank:
Remember, kids - stay in school and follow the rules:
Concerned about the temptations of city life and fast living, Mom and Dad took me on a family retreat to West Virginia. It was a joy to have the backseat all to myself on the drive out:
We stopped at a rest area in mountainous Western Maryland -
here I am pointing out the region's curiously flat horizon:
Despite all my parents' coaching, I was still unprepared for West Virginia's rugged, unspoilt beauty:
But what really made it special was spending unhurried time with family:
We stayed at a place with an electric golf cart, but sharing it with my cousins was no easy matter:
We took a ride on the river in a zippy power boat - unfortunately, it was during nap time:
Seems like we just got there when suddenly we had to say our goodbyes.
I gave Maya one last shove before we had to shove off for old time's sake:
I took my cousin Hayden's advice to sleep as a way to avoid the tedium of road travel:
Back home I quickly reverted to my usual hair-raising schemes:
But whenever anyone tries to finger me as the culprit, all I have to do is flash my baby blues.
Works like a charm every time:
See what I mean?
