Taking a morning walk this morning, I noticed that the heat was already heading up into the 80’s. Warm and getting warmer…A great way to start hurricane season.

Over the weekend the the mosquitoes returned with a vengeance. That little bit of rain last week seems to have hatched out a new crop of the little demons. This batch isn’t our normal Texas sized mosquitoes either, they are tiny little, almost no see-um’s with great big bites…

You can tell summer is here by the sweet smells wafting around the yard. The privets are covered with their sweet white clusters of blooms. As youngsters we would stalk the neighborhood privets with mayo jars catching honeybees to watch. Right now the honeybees are ignoring the sweet smell of the privets for the overwhelming smell coming from the mimosa trees scattered about. Saturday morning, very early, the day was so still when I walked out to the bench in the back yard that I could hear the mimosa tree buzzing. It was so covered with honeybees that the combine sound was quite loud.

That brought back memories of past springs when the oak trees would be in bloom and the bees would be covering the canopy thirty feet above your head. There would be so many bees working up there that you could hear the buzz all day long. Last year we didn’t hear that sound. It’s good to hear the bees back again.

Another smell that is continuous around here is the sweetness of honeysuckle. The vines scatered around the place have at least a few blooms on the almost year round. I have posted pictures in the past with snow on the honeysuckle blooms…Here is one from last winter…