Lots of reading...not a lot of working...

Thanks for the ID on the butterfly...so I went and did some research as to what plants Black Swallowtails like and whatnot, and I see that parsley, dill, etc. are their favorites. So, next year, I'll have to find an out-of-the-way spot to plant some of this stuff and maybe I'll have more. I've always wanted to plant milkweed, because Monarchs apparently lay their eggs on that. So we'll see if I can increase the population of these guys around here.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing on with "Devil in the White City"...it's been good so far. No major complaints. I'll probably go read a little more today before a wedding we have to go to, because I'm super sore from softball last night.

I play every Friday in a 12-inch slow-pitch men's league in the southwest 'burbs (so it's a bit of a hike for me, but it's worth it) with a bunch of guys I grew up with. I've known most of these guys for just about every year of the 30 I've been on this fine Earth. We grew up in the old neighborhood together, most of our parents actually still live in that neighborhood, despite the complete cultural and ethnic upending that has occured there in the last decade and a half, and we've stayed in touch over time. It's rare, I know. How many people can say they still talk to about 6-10 friends that they've known since birth, but that all run together in the same group? Not many, really. There's a book out there about such a relationship, ironically, among a group of South Siders like ourselves, which I have not read yet (and, of course, the name escapes me right now). I'd like to get it and critique the hell out of it, and then write my own version, based on my reality.

Anyway, we all grew up playing softball (16-inch, though...a Chicago classic...not 12-inch) on the corner, Little League at the local park, fast-pitch against the local schoolbuilding, football in the grassy patch of another school, basketball in any number of alleys, among other things. But, we're all getting older...and this is the second week in a row that I'm feeling the aftereffects...during the summer, I play three times a week. But one game, three times a week. This fall league is all double-headers. So I'm still getting used to it. I'm less sore than last week, but still sore.

Ah well, thanks for listening to my tangent. :) It actually sheds some light, if you think about it, as to why I went and got a bungalow and am living in the Bungalow Belt as well. Stick with what works. :)