pleasant garden, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It's been too hot to go walking at lunch or after work all week, so I got up at five this morning (oh yes, I did!) and walked down to the park and woods. It was nice and cool, and quiet (if a bit buggy). It was also cloudy; not great conditions for pictures, but I took some anyway. Because I'm me. *g*

Of course, it's back to being sunny and hot, so I'm hiding out in the batcave for the afternoon. And of course I took a nap.

I went to see the new (and last) Harry Potter after work yesterday. I'd planned to see the 5:30 show, but since it was slow I left early, and made it in time for the 5:00 3D showing. Spoilers below!

( thoughts about the movie )

cool moth, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It's getting hot again. It's supposed to be near 100 on Thursday. I don't enjoy the heat. :P

What I thought at first was a leaf turned out to be this really nifty moth. Check out the crazy antennae, fuzzy body, and googly eyes:



It was on the fence outside an elementary school. Part of me wanted to bring out the kids to see it. Another, more sensible part thought that would probably not be a good idea. I could just picture the little tykes poking the poor creature. ;)

splash, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

This is what one does (or wants to do) on a ninety-degree day. :)

It took me three tries to get her leaping into the water; she kept going back and forth, fortunately.

Her little sister was also having some wet fun:



( also )

mmm, basil, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

We're back to the hot and sticky weather. Oh, joy. I had to get out for a walk, though, so I went over to Grandmothers' Garden, where the basil is thriving. Yum. I was tempted to snitch some for pesto, but I picked only one leaf and smelled it the whole way home. Gosh I love the smell of basil. :9

drip, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

After a sweltering morning (during which I huddled inside, in the air conditioning), we had quite a loud thunderstorm move through, and I found myself glad that I wasn't still camping. From posts people made last night on Facebook, it sounds like they had some really intense storms come through western NY, and the ones we had today were probably from the same system. I was remembering the microburst (or tornado, depending on who's telling the story) there about ten years ago. That was scary.

After the rain stopped, I went out for a fairly short walk (maybe a mile round trip, probably less). It had cooled down some, but was still quite muggy. After a popsicle (Edy's pomegranate - yum), I took a nice cool shower, where I found a spider the size of a Buick (name the reference!) hiding behind my shampoo. Eek! He slid down into the water, where I caught him in a Dixie cup and tossed him out the door after I got dressed. Why do spiders like my bathroom? I'm always finding them in there, which is the farthest place in my apartment from any outside door or window, and there are no bugs on which to nom. *shudder*

( what else I found on my walk )

little bunny, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

This little guy (and he was a wee one) was next to the parking lot when I got into work this morning, totally oblivious to the human in the big brown metal thing. I watched him nibble at the grass for a few minutes before I went inside. So cute!

It's blessedly cool here in the office. I didn't go outside for lunch, because it's just too darned hot. Weather.com says it's 100 degrees, with a heat index of 104. Ouch. I hope the bunny has a place to stay relatively cool.

I'll probably wait until it's dark, or nearly so, before going out walking this evening. If I go out at all. I sure hope this weather breaks before camp!

glowy, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It got up to 97 degrees today, but thankfully it's nice and comfortable here in the batcave. I got a lot of packing done, and some cleaning, and I waterproofed my stompy boots for camp.

I got a little cabin fever, though, and when I saw the gorgeous late afternoon light, I just had to go out.

( Oh, what light! )

hot in the city tonight, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

This was the temperature as I was getting home from work. Yeah, that's hot.

I thought I just heard thunder, but it turned out to be a fighter jet from the base nearby. I did see some awesome clouds earlier, though.

( clouds and more )

tiger swallowtail, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I went out for a walk this morning, trying to get out before it got too hot. By the time I got home (elevenish), it was already steamy. I'm really happy that my apartment has A/C; between that and keeping the shades down, it's comfortable in here.

( today's treasures )