Late Summer Ramblings...
...It is a gorgeous day here in Ohio, and we are rapidly approaching the unofficial end of summer and the Labor Day weekend. It has been a strange summer with such excessive heat and drought conditions. Looking at many of the trees in the area I can see that the loss will be great. There are a lot of half-dead trees and some of the young trees that were planted in the spring did not survive. Last winter was a nearly snowless one with mild temperatures. I knew those conditions would cost us here in Ohio. We need that moisture from the snows. Lots of people were thrilled at not having to shovel snow and struggle through the cold and snowy conditions all winter, but it cost us dearly in the end. Though we have had some respite with rains finally in early August, it has proven to be too little too late in many cases. When the rains came they were accompanied with severe lightning and brief torrential rains that ran off the topsoil sending it down the roads into the sewer