can you say humid?

The summer solstice is greeting Germany today with big wet kisses. It poured all morning up here on the hill while other parts of the country had it much worse - there's been talk of thunderstorms, mini tornados, torrential rainfall and flooding, especially down south. We seem to live in a good weather (well, good weather for Germany, anyway) pocket and don't get too much turbulence.

What we do get is some pretty massive humidity that has us all sweating away even if the temperatures aren't that high.

Here's a small language lesson - schwül is the adjective Germans use for a weather situation that is close, muggy, sticky or sultry. That means this word is used an awful lot this time of year. You have to watch this a bit, though, because schwul, a word that looks almost identical, is a colloquial term used to describe a gay man. What a difference an umlaut (= those two little dots above the u) makes, eh? And you thought you were safe talking about the weather! Watch that pronunciation and you'll be fine.

So yes, we find ourselves in mid summer and it's raining like crazy. While I don't mind at all, I must say the dry days we've been having have also been wonderful. Good thing I was quick on the draw with my camera yesterday while the sun was still shining.

You can tell it's summer when hot air balloons go sailing by right above your house.




There are all sorts of sun-loving flowers in the garden right now








and my succulents are busting out all over






This beautiful creature was patient enough to let me get a good look at him before he flew away. What can I say? Bugs love me, I guess.




Happy Summer!