I was supposed to get up and go birding this morning, but it was going to be 87F (28C) and very humid by the time we finished, so I'm here blogging from the comfort of my air-conditioned home instead. We planned on heading into Richmond for Sailfest today, but that same weather issue is making it increasingly likely that I'll spend the day on the couch. As I get older, the list of things I'm willing to suffer miserable weather for is getting shorter and shorter.

If you are wondering why I live in a hot and humid southern city with this attitude, welcome to the club.

This week is the one-year anniversary of me creating an LLC and going all-in on self-employment. I was going to congratulate myself on making it a year when over half of business startups fail in the first year, but it turns out that statistic is a myth. About 80% of businesses survive the first year, so I'm not that special. But overall, the business is going well. Health insurance continues to be a PITA, and presently I really don't know what we are doing next year. I've got a couple of options that I'm looking into and many more that I've written off as not helpful. Something has to give, though, as the current system in the US is failing in every possible way.

In other news, all the native plants I put in the ground this spring have doubled in size. I've noticed birds poking around the backyard bed, so I assume they are finding caterpillars on the plants. My backyard bed is all late summer and fall flowering, so I'm looking forward to all that color in the backyard in a couple of months.

I've had the new Red Clay Strays album (Grateful) on repeat play all week. This has to be a serious contender for record of the year. Their range from country to blues to Americana to southern rock is wonderful, and the songwriting is top-notch. I strongly recommend that you check it out if your musical tastes stray anywhere near the roots/Americana genre.

Robert Jon and the Wreck also have a new record, and we have tickets for their local show in July. Robert John is what you would get if Greg Allman had grown up in Southern California listening to the Eagles. It's a wonderful mashup of classic southern rock and California vibes a la late 70s Eagles.

Jesse Welles also has a new album, and we have tickets for his local show in July. If you are not familiar with Jesse, think Woody Guthrie with amplification. Jesse has a lot to say about the state of the world, and it's the kind of stuff that gets people disappeared living under totalitarian regimes.

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, try to stay cool. And stay warm for those of you on the other side of the planet?