Good Wednesday to you all.  Hope you are staying cool.  They predict a bit of a cooling to the high 80s instead of the high 90s--at least up here at the southern tip of Lake Michigan.  I didn't have much to do in the gardens except water the various containers.  I also pulled one stand of corn because the ears were not developing or were developing in a strange and misshapen way.  I was surprised at how dry that container was.  Far drier than any of the others--even the other container with corn.  Those ears are developing nicely.  Tomorrow--early--I will move the two basils into the space where the corn was and give all of the plants a bit more room.  Otherwise everything looks good.  We are still hibernating inside.  Update: we have seen some lightning striking somewhere nearby with the attendant really loud thunder.  Now we are getting a heavy rain squall.  Hopefully, it will make a dent in our moisture deficit.
Update 2: the rain has stopped.  Only lasted about 15 minutes.  See if we attract another wandering storm cloud.
Kathleen Parker writes a nice sensible opinion piece on the Washington Post today.  We have remarked often here about how little real information is put out by our 'infotainment' industry.  More often we simply turn off the broadcast news and go to sites on line for real news.  All too frequently we watch a news story only to say 'didn't we see that on line a week or two ago?  Sure took them long enough.'  The Presidential campaign has come down to a personality contest without much substance on either side.  The choice is between the devil you know because he has already been in office and the devil you don't because he is saying anything he thinks will solidify his position with the most rabid of his supporters while disavowing anything he did in his previous political life.

Contrary Farmer posted this humorous item this morning on how wild animals are, increasingly, invading more settled areas.  We can testify to the truth of his statements.  For the last month or saw we have watched a family of raccoons trolling the neighborhood for what ever scraps they can find.  They always visit a couple of duplexes across the street where the occupants have small dogs.  They may have dog food where the clever little pests can get at it.  We think that some recent building about a half mile away that has eliminated a field usually planted in corn or soybeans may have driven them to invade our built up area.  The drought may also be pushing them over here.

Threatwatch published an update/analysis of the TB outbreak in Florida.  Small government and the 'let them die' Repthuglican philosophy in action.

Susie Madrak has an interesting article on the effects of the drought on the Mississippi.  I have read about major rivers in eastern Europe, India and China drying up.  The Danube had been closed to barge traffic earlier this year because water levels were so low.  They were in the middle of a prolonged drought also.  Now the water levels in the Mississippi are getting too low for barge traffic.

I would love it if the U.S. would follow Iceland's lead.  At least they are investigating and, sometimes, prosecuting the bankers that precipitated the financial collapse.  None of ours have yet been penalized for their roles.

Anyone else notice the irony in the news stories concerning the FDA's new ruling banning BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups?  The producers have already eliminated it in response to consumer protests.  The broadcast news I saw last night probably didn't make any friends among the producers when the news reader speculated the industry's support of the ban was probably a hope that the issue would end there and they can continue using BPA in other food and beverage related containers.