Tis the Season

It's officially summer.

I know this not because there are flowers growing up in my flower beds or because we eat most of our meals outside now. Not because the screens are in the windows or Ella's bedtime has been naturally extended an extra hour or two because of the longer days. It has nothing to do with the upcoming Solstice or my suntan. I know this because there are small, dead rodents - or the body parts of small, dead rodents - all around my house.

Yesterday, a sprawled chipmunk was dropped in front of our kitchen door. Today, I found myself bent to ground, squinting, to try to figure out why that raspberry was furry. It wasn't a raspberry. It was the nose end and guts of a small mole. Just the mouth, teeth, whiskers and guts. I can't shake the image.

The barn is full of decomposing critters. The roads are littered with them. It's just a damn good thing they reproduce at the rate they do... otherwise their species would surely be doomed.