Yesterday was 88 degrees, and today may be hotter. Summer heat in May, climate change. Last night I tossed and turned in bed. The Whisker Mixer is over, and it turned out ok. Greenhouse Day is tomorrow, and Cemetery Day is Friday.

Tonight I have the strategic planning meeting, and I’m not in the right mindset for it. Sometimes I think that people who ‘support’ the shelter do so because they like the idea of helping homeless pets. But they buy from breeders, and in many cases don’t really support the mission and vision. Some of them, including folks in rescue, believe that any home is better than a shelter. I’m more of an animal rights supporter and I believe we have a duty to represent what is truly best for the pets.

Sometimes, I think of what I’d do if I wasn’t at the shelter. You know, the thing that really gets you excited. When I was young, our parents took us to Niagara Falls. Mom took us to a haunted house and a wax museum. That’s what I’d like to do. Run a haunted house and a horror wax museum. And I have a theme for the first round of wax exhibits! Horrors of the Bible! Imagine, a man being eaten by locusts (Book of Exodus, Chapter 10, Verses 4–12). King Herod’s men killing babies with pitchforks (Gospel of Matthew, Verses 2:16–18)! I suspect there’s a learning curve in making wax bodies, unless you’re going to do the Vincent Price thing from the movie and just use a little wax cover up. And with the summer heat in May, you’re going to have to air condition the heck out of the museum year-round going forward.

Zines

I have two ideas for zines, but haven’t had the time to work on either. I’m pretty excited about them, if I could just get the time together. I’ve only sold three zines in May, compared to ten in April. I need new content in my Etsy store.

Slow Stitch

I finished my second slow stitch meditation roll and have started on a slow stitch needle book cover with fabric from my Aunt Gini. Again, the thing about slow stitch is that it is really slow. I’ll be lucky to get much done before the Mutt Market in August, unless I can get a bit more time.

Rucking

I completed my first rucking hike last week. It seems to be a good way to burn extra calories and build strength, and for some reason it completely stops the intense pain in my lower back when I hike. But good lord, if the summer heat in May increases to the hot humid heat of hell in June, rucking will be a challenge!

Garden

The garden is looking alive. I think, with the summer heat in May, we’re about two weeks ahead of schedule. The chives, nepeta, siberian iris, and salvia are all blooming purple. The pond is going, and I’ve got most of the mulching done. This year I pulled the Joe Pye weed as it always turns out deformed for some reason. We’ve got plenty of orioles, I finally saw a hummingbird, and we even had a rose breasted grosbeak visit the jelly feeder last weekend.