5 things I love about summer

1 - Research time!
It's like being back in grad school, without the stress and grinding poverty. Love it!

2 - Fresh fruit
I've kept a bowl filled with cut-up melons, strawberries, pineapple, berries, etc. I just pull it out with every meal. So good, and I can convince myself it's healthy.

3 - Flowers
I've been stopping at Trader Joe's every 10 days or so to buy a $4 bouquet of whatever's pretty. (Oh, and the frozen chicken taquitos which my kids think rock the world. Nice quick dinner, when needed.)

4 - Time to think
It's not just that I can get more research done, it's that the lack of teaching and service means I'm not constantly interrupted or asked to do "just one little thing". You know, those "little things" that combine to cut up your whole day into tiny shreds of time during which nothing can get done? I find I'm actually making it to the end of my to-do list, and I'm not distracted or derailed by the need to answer "critical" e-mails or deal with a student crisis!

5 - Sunshine
Sometimes I wonder if I have a SADs problem. Life is just better with sunshine.

highland horse burial

Another interesting example of human/non-human animal relationships: The BBC is reporting on a horse burial found in the Scottish highlands, dating to the 1750s. Nothing is known about why this horse was buried in this place or in this way. It does not appear to have been butchered or used to make glue.

Someone's beloved pet? An honorable war veteran? Hidden evidence of a crime? Intriguing, indeed.