Only another week left in August???

Hi there! A few items to report on - the yard work hit a major milestone yesterday when I finally raked up the last of the big pile-o-leaves in the backyard. It looks a lot better now and we are deciding on the perfect patio set to place outside so we can fully enjoy the area. The ivy is a huge pain to pull out of the ground, and as you can see from photos in the link below (or to the right at our shortcuts area), it's a slow, slow work in progress.

Clearing the decaying leaves and sprawling ivy means we've shooed away the Palmetto bugs that plague the South, but imagine my surprise when a different pest showed up this morning...a rat! in broad daylight! Feasting on some old rice I had sprinkled out for the birds. I'm a bit conflicted about our new rodent friend. I'm pretty sure he's a resident in the empty field lot behind out house, but unsure what damage he'll do on our yard/house. Rats eat roaches right? Well, the enemy of my enemy just might well be my friend...

We also have the good fortune this week of experiencing a low of 60 degrees this week!! The highs are again in the low 90s which is great compared to the last month...Dry air wafted through Alabama and boy could we feel it this morning! It was the most pleasant weather we've experienced here to date. Dan and I are excited for the fall to settle in - Unsure about the massive amount of leaves to rake up, but I'll deal with it if I can sit outside for longer than 20 minutes without needing a shower.

Anyhow, this past weekend we also went on an evening cruise aboard the Bama Belle. Pictures are also included in today's link, and I'll let Dan tell you about the happenings on that end as he tends to provide more vivid narratives...

The link to the yard, Bama Belle, and a few of Hannah...

Cheers for now all!