dear reader September 2026 At risk of boring you with my bird stories, we had a wren (again, my bird identification abilities are rudimentary at best) who visited us around 8:20 p.m. every night for a few weeks. It would sing a little song for a little and then leave just before dark. I wish it could have kept visiting but nature is ephemeral, and I’ll take whatever is offered. At the beginning of the month, I sent my manuscript off to my agent. I sincerely, full-bodily hope it’s close to...

dear reader August 2026 Hawks had started to threaten the crows around my home, so I stopped putting out treats for the them because I couldn’t bear to see the altercations. Their caws receded and were replaced with the trilling, high voice of the hawk (probably the red-tailed hawk, but I’m no expert). A while later, we could hear the incessant, unmistakable voice of a fledgling. There were, in fact, two. Hawk fledglings are funny because they’re only really decipherable by a slight...

dear reader July 2026 I’m preparing for four months of being indoors because it’s too hot outside to do anything. I won’t be doing any jigsaw puzzles this year but will probably work on knitting. Did I mention that I taught myself knitting in March? Knowing how to crochet made it easier, though it was still daunting. I also approached it a little resentfully, but I wanted socks without plastic! I’m determined/stubborn if nothing else. And so I have socks! I’m working on my third pair. With...