Dog day weather begins.

July 22.

I hear that many of those balls have been found at Flint’s Pond within a few days. 

See small flocks of red-wings, young and old, now, over the willows. 

The pigeon woodpeckers have flown.

Dog day weather begins.

H. D. Thoreau, Journal, July 22, 1855

Many of those balls have been found at Flint’s Pond See June 19, 1853 ("No grass balls yet."); July 24, 1856 ("I find, at the shallow stone wharf shore, three balls in good condition, walking about half the length of that shore. Methinks it was about a week earlier than this that they were found last year.")
See small flocks of red-wings, young and old, now. See July 13, 1856 (“See quite a large flock of chattering red-wings, the flight of first broods.”); July 29, 1859 (“See large flocks of red-wings now, the young grown.”)


At dusk we hike to the view without headlamps on, arriving to a spectacular light show of constant lightning flashes and bolts to the northwest — so far  away we only occasionally  hear the thunder.  We water the dogs and  linger as long as we dare. Loki watches the light show.   My water bottle has dropped somewhere on the trail so we walk back the same route. Little Acorn is on an elastic leach strapped to my waist, her first outing since her surgery 10 day ago. A short hike.  It has been a 90 degree day and two fans so loud  in the family room we do not hear when the deluge hits home a little later. 20160722