The summer is whipping by so fast that the imminent collision with autumn is likely to result in property damage. In less than a month, G, M, and I, with a little help from some friends, are set to participate in a music festival in Seattle. We managed to rehearse yesterday, which will be helpful. After rehearsal, we went on a mission to Rhythm Fusion in Santa Cruz. I had hoped to buy some more nose flutes, since I keep breaking mine. No luck. I was also on the lookout for jaw harps, since I'm also quite adept at breaking them and I'm down to my last one. They had some expensive ones and some cheap ones. I bought a cheap one. In fact, it was a Snoopy jaw harp. It's actually quite rugged, and looks like it can withstand quite a beating. Lastly, both G and I bought soolings, which are a type of Indonesian wind instrument - basically, a long section of bamboo with finger holes and a tricky little mouthpiece. Very relaxing tone though. We got the big ones, around three feet long. As we walked down the street with them, a guy wished us good luck at the gig he must have thought we were walking to. I guess it's not too odd to see guys with long hair carting around strange instruments on the streets of Santa Cruz. Most of them are downtown, playing them, with hats, baskets, or instrument cases placed hopefully nearby. Busking is alive and well here. I hope they all walked to their favorite spots, because if they drove they'd have to earn a lot of money to break even.

I've always said that we'll never really run out of oil, because nobody will be able to afford the last barrel. Hell, most of us probably won't be able to afford gas decades before it comes to that. Part of me hopes that gas goes up to five dollars a gallon so all of the large, gas-guzzling vehicles will be forced to gather dust and bird poop in their driveways. We really do need to find alternatives, don't we? Drilling in Alaska doesn't count. It's like adding another tablespoonful of broth to the soup that is supposed to feed your family for the next generation or two. And, I might add, a dearly bought spoonful of broth indeed. Let's hear it for hybrids, bio-diesel, and this new innovation called walking.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the final week of summer camp for this year. Today, realizing that I hadn't taken any pictures in awhile, I took out the Trans Pecos Ratsnake and let him climb the big, messy palm tree in our yard. He sure has grown. When we got him, he was not much bigger than a pencil.