Twirling squirrels and cats in bags

There is something playful and laid back about this summer, an attitude that even the squirrels around here appear to share, especially one young, smallish squirrel, which I've seen doing twirls and flip backs for no apparent reason while trying to play with a stick.

It's not unusual to count seven or more squirrels on the front yard of our small apartment near the woods, including the three in this picture (the one at center, the one running away at the top and the one almost out of the frame on the right). Most of them scamper when I come outside, but a few sit and wait, especially if I'm about to put out the wildlife mix they love, because it has the whole peanuts they enjoy shelling.

Since my return last week, there's already been two birthdays to celebrate (one with ice cream and one with a surprise cake), meetings, lunches and dinners, new people to meet and greet, and even an "adopted" dog to walk. So, life at my small college on the hill takes on its own summer pace, one that is much more relaxed and mellow than the school year's, but very much still its own quirky self.

Even Magellan acts more playful, claiming as her own the Williams-Sonoma shopping bag that recently carried home some new goodies: a wood cutting board for summer vegetables; fancy cherries in a jar that will fill an upcoming pie for my husband; a pastry blender with a thumb rest; and, the best Mexican vanilla I've found.

I don't visit Williams-Sonoma very often since it's usually priced beyond my means, but the occasional splurge brings joy not only to my little kitchen but to Magellan (Darwin can't figure out all the fuzz about the big shopping bag).

Someone recently noted that summer is almost half over, and I told them that, for me, summer has only now started. It used to be that fall was my favorite season, but now that summer is the season when I'm mistress of my own time, I've quite changed my mind.