June in BN state -- lush

Today has been a pretty lazy day. I put the finishing touches on the Ethics paper and mailed it off... 35 pages, including the bibliography... and it is only a start... wow. It is the longest single paper I've written so far and it feels great to get it out of the house.

I'm starting to like the ritual of snail-mailing the paper to my supervisor. It forces me to let go of it once and for all, knowing I can't go back and write a "delete that last e-mail attachment, here is the REAL one".

I also kind of like the slice of life I see at the post office -- little old ladies buying two-cent stamps to use up the old stamps they had at home, moms with kids mailing birthday presents to distant cousins, people mailing important stuff that has to get there ASAP, with a delivery receipt and a DNA test for the person getting it.

Driving home I realized how neat BN state is this time of the year:

The mommy Canadian Goose with her gosslings the size of average chickens.... mommy goose teaching them the ins and outs of living in a pond by a residential road...

Little old ladies out for a walk in their white sun hats with applique flowers and comfortable shoes.

Kids on their bikes heading over to the YMCA to swim and shout.

Teens out walking in the sultry evening air, looking for trouble... but, not really -- really they just need to get out of the house and away from their younger siblings and nagging parents.

Moms with kids in strollers out for a breath of fresh air walking down the sidewalks chatting about the kids and finding a new set of friends while the kids go to sleep.

Memories of being a kid in BN state -- the cool green of the lake, the evening "snipe hunts" and camping in the yard.

I think the best thing about BN state in June is the GREEN... The thick canopy of trees lining a regular neighborhood street. Everything is green -- not the deep green of the Pacific Northwest or the brownish green of the prairie states, no -- this is pure Kermit the Frog green.

By late July the heat of the month will leave some lawns sad and brown and by late August the fall colors will slowly creep into the trees -- but now, for a few wonderful days, before the official beginning of summer, BN state is close to paradise.

When we move away, and we will at some point move away -- June is the reason we'll come back to BN state. it may not be when we come back, but it will be why we come back.