Michelle, do get that ear looked at! You might have something else going on - an ingrown hair that burst as an abscess, for example, would have some bleeding.

As I mowed last night I thought about where everyone else is climate-wise. And about last year's "normal" mowing season here being non-existent because of the extreme heat and drought. It's like it was shoved six months down the road this year. The weeds are huge right now, and need addressing. Maybe some of them this evening, if I get this next print job out of the way today. The rain this morning will have washed any lawn clippings out of the street - but playing it cautiously, I swept last night because our code enforcement guys don't have much to do this time of year and will post warnings on the front door if they see grass in the street. :-/

Susan, brittle plastic is a problem here with so much hot sunny weather. Wading pools for the dogs only last a couple of seasons (assuming the dogs don't chew them to pieces first). If I leave bags of mulch over beside the house for too long the bags deteriorate and I have to move it to flower beds via bucket because the bags crumble.

SRS