Another week of small vignettes.

Another week by myself. Another week of small vignettes.

 Since my dad usually gets the mail, I forgot to. After a few days, I pulled out the mail, and a wasp flew right in front of me. Then I found that it had built a nest on the mail!😬

Jimmy the cat has been extra affectionate, since I'm the only person around to pet him. Even though he's a shorthair cat, he's somewhat prone to matting. He had some especially bad matting on his back, so I worked to get it off. He doesn't like being brushed in general, so I was really happy when I finally got the lump of fur off him!

On Monday, I found Marshmallow Moon Oreos, which I reviewed. They are in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing. I figured they work for the Fourth of July, since it's an important event in American history, and they also work for Pioneer Day, since the astronauts splashed down on July 24. Also, I'm especially suited to review them, because I took a planetary geology class, I saw Apollo 11 at Sundance, and the splashdown plays an important part of a project I'm working on.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to go on a mini hike so I could take a picture of the cookies with the full moon in the background. I thought the moon would rise around 9:00, but it wasn't until 10:30. So there were no cookie pictures. But it was still a fun excursion on the trails I usually run. It's the season of sticky geraniums,

 Utah sweetpea and the end of mulesears,

 tufted evening primrose,

 and sego lilies. There are more sego lilies than I can ever remember. It makes me mad to see something like this where people pick them. They are special flowers! If you pick them, they die! And when you leave them on the trail, it's not even like you're bringing the beauty home with you. What a waste! How about this: for every sego lily you pick, I get to pull out a clump of your hair. Sound fair?

On Wednesday, I ran up Mueller Park, but I didn't take any pictures. I met some colleagues for lunch to ask them for advice. And in the evening, I was finally able to engage in my June activity of pulling up goatheads. But I didn't do as many as I would have liked before I had to get home to mow the lawn.

On Thursday, I went to the Capitol. I hadn't been inside it since preschool. For the Fourth of July season, I wanted to see the replica of the Liberty Bell.

Friday and Saturday were the beginning of astronomical summer, yet the temperatures were more like fall. I love the long days of summer, and when they have fall temperatures, it's a fabulous combination! I was able to run up North Canyon in the evening. The long canyon runs really are better in the evening, but I don't usually have time before it gets dark.

Thimbleberry plants!

I haven't seen these violets before.

Caterpillars!

A random lilac bush.

Every year, it's the same. I never have time to do all the things I want to do: pull goatheads, pick cherries, bake pies, spend time with family, spend time with sego lilies, find Fourth of July candy, watch patriotic shows. Oh well. At least I don't have time to be bored.