Happy first day of summer and the longest day of the year. I sure hate to mention this disturbing fact but now the days will start getting a wee bit shorter and shorter until September and the first day of fall and then, on September 22, the days and nights are equal. Next, you guessed […]
Dog Days
July 3 through August 11 (approximately) are the “dog days of summer.” But, why are these hottest, most humid days, related to our canine friends? Perhaps, it’s because of the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. At least, this is what some of the ancients believed. These sticky days of summer affected them too. Summers […]
A Wild and Wicked Month
July is a hot, dry month. Right? Wrong! Or, at least, that certain July in Levi, Oklahoma isn’t hot and dry, but it is murderous. It is also the rainiest month that the good citizens of the small Oklahoma town can ever remember. For Darcy and Flora, it is one of the most dangerous. […]

The Fly Who Came to Stay
The Fly Who Came to Stay by Blanche Day Manos, who takes full responsibility for this goofy piece In my neck of the woods, everything gets ornery in the summertime. Critters, humans, even bugs are easy riled. There’s nothing like the heat of a white-orange sun blazing down from a copper-colored sky to make […]

A Nice, Warm, Old-Fashioned Kind of Day
Yesterday was a warm, old-fashioned kind of day–well, actually, it was hot! And, guess what happened? My air conditioner stopped putting out cool air. This is the third time this summer that it has just given up. Is it old and tired? Is the heat too much for it? Have I not been properly grateful […]
