The summer months mean construction on campus, which means parking lots get fenced off for equipment and supplies.

Storms came through again late in the afternoon, not uncommon at this time of the year.

Just outside the fence, near the corner of our porch, stood a gentle tree. I never figured out what kind it was, a little like a willow, a little like a dogwood. It was a tremendously graceful tree.

Last summer, a couple of the large branches dies off, so I took them down, hoping whatever was killing them could be contained. Today, I had to take down the rest of the tree.

I’m going to miss it a bit.

The Bulldog Cafe is undergoing a complete renovation, so it has been out of sight for most of the summer.

Athens still has some little remnants of its past, from the trim around doors that have been painted dozens of times to a few remaining pay phones.

Not all the summer messages got through in tact this year.

It’s a hole in the wall, and a damned fine one.