Today was muggy and buggy ...

… and “sluggy” as well.

What a difference a day makes. I was really enjoying that cool, pre-Fall weather and along comes the heat and humidity again.

I left before it got too hot, but, I guess I didn’t leave early enough, because I still got warmish while walking.

I headed to Council Point Park because we are having rain today, and the next few days, and since it is always kind of buggy there after a rainfall, I’ll not be visiting for a while.

The mosquitoes were out in full force so I picked up the pace a little so they didn’t have time to hone in on my arms and legs, but a few hungry bloodsuckers got me anyway. It seems I saw more slugs than usual today. They all seem to be industrial-sized specimens this year, and watching them sliming across the sidewalks sometimes make me recoil just a bit. But, at least I no longer see them, or their handiwork, in my own front and back yards. That’s because a few years ago I took care of them with a diet of Molson Canadian beer and “Sluggo” pellets, but, unfortunately not before they chomped through the leaves of every one of my perennials and butterfly bushes first.

I heard the hum of the A/C units once again as I walked through the neighborhoods – no wonder, there was 90% humidity already.

That moist air made the smell of the pine trees just exhilarating, so it sure overpowered the scent of grass fertilizer and the pungent aroma coming from the Creek as I walked along the water’s edge.

There were crinkled-up leaves, tinged with yellow and red, scattered on homeowners’ lawns as well as in the Park. I find it hard to believe so many leaves have turned colors and dropped off already, especially with this rainy and chilly Summer. It won’t be long until the leaves on this gnarly old tree pictured above will be bare and the tree will look more misshapen than usual.

I saw a few industrious squirrels with their front teeth clamped down on still-green acorns as they scampered to and fro, no doubt looking for a hiding place to store them. Perhaps the squirrels have been reading “The Old Farmer’s Almanac”, whose editors beg to differ with the favorable El Nino prognosis for a mild Winter. The Almanac’s editors essentially said “Pfft” to the El Nino predictions and have forecast that Michigan should expect the usual snow and cold, as early as mid-November, plus, they are touting their prior accuracy in predicting the past two snowy and cold Winters.

Well, time will tell, but, I think those colorful leaves littering the grass on August 29th are definitely not in sync with this warm and muggy day.

I got my five miles in and am now just shy of reaching 400 miles to date for 2015, a mini goal I had targeted for myself for Labor Day. So I’ll be really happy to reach that milestone early. Onward and upward!

You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net/