Dragonfly Rescue

Went to the gym Wednesday (8/21) and did the regular routine.  I suppose I should look up some hand stretches or other warm-ups because I've noticed my hands are sore now that I've returned to the gym routine after a vacation.

The other day Cicero caught a dragonfly.  I'm never quite sure if he's catching them on his own or if these have been disabled by birds who don't eat them after pecking them.

This one seemed to be in fairly good condition:  its wings seemed to be working and it only had a little dent in its side.  Cicero had mostly been batting it against the ground before I rescued it.  After appreciating it, I managed to place it on some horsebane growing near our deck and sprinkled a little water on the branches for it.  Cicero really wanted to play with it more, and, like a Disney cartoon wolf, took up a station at the base of the plant.

Wednesday and Thursday were grey, rainy days.  The trees and grass needed the rain, and I feel like much of the dust and pollen has been cleared from the air.  Of course today (Friday), I'm noticing the haze in the air is making the pines on a hill across Amazon Slough grey-green instead of the pine-green of their nearer counterparts.

Today (Friday) is a writing and marketing day.  My in-the-mail count is one and it ideally should be up to ten (or greater).  I've got a list of stories to send out... although one (fairly old) story has got some dated technology in it that needed to be cleaned up and the more I think about it, the more I'm wondering if I should run the story past some beta readers to see if I'm guilty of cultural appropriation.