The apple tree outside the old house has split asunder. Oddly, it has a heavier than usual apple crop under construction and even though the trunk has broken apart, none of the leaves and apples on the limbs are wilting or acting like anything is wrong. The deer are enjoying having the apples in better reach, and I think they are magnifying the split by standing on the branches as they reach for higher, tastier fruit. At least I assume it is tastier. We have found the apples on this tree to be sour in the extreme. It was planted by the woman who built our old house, around 1942. I have enjoyed having its flowers in spring, its animal and bird attracting qualities and its historical associations and will miss it when it is gone.
We have entered high summer here in the Northwest, with clear skies and warm temperatures. Not too warm though...we are almost always ten degrees cooler than Seattle, which means our average is about seventy five degrees Farenheit in the afternoons. Perfect.