Ash Tree Blues, or Purples

The ash tree blight scrutiny has spread to my neighborhood, too. Mr Moohoo has reported these purple insect traps in ash trees in various parts of the city. This one is on Grotto, near Osceola. I, too, am obsessed with the purple traps - there is a row of ash trees lining both sides of the street on the block that I live. There are a bunch of trees on Grotto that don't look very healthy, not unlike a bunch on the Mississippi River Road, which are well along in the process of dying off. There are traps in Como Park, too, near the Conservatory. Ah. rotten luck.



The temperature in St Paul set a record for the date yesterday - 97. Unky Herb and I finally uncovered the AC and turned it on for the season.

I played two sets of tennis this afternoon with the GTA. It was about 80 degrees and my stamina was good enough to last through both sets. Curt and I played together, won some games, but managed to come out behind in both sets.

Wimby is well into the first week. Both Venus and Serena are playing well and may again meet in the finals. The Screaming Maria lost today and is no longer a factor. I'm predicting Serena to beat Venus in the finals. Roger Federer is the favorite in the men's draw, except for the Brits, who are hoping that Andy Murray (a Scotsman) will win before the blanc mange aliens do. He means to win Wimbledon. I hope he does. They haven't won their own tournament in over 70 years.