Showers and Change…Return to Pleasant!

Tuesday on Earth has been cloudy leading to showers; 3 so far, as a stationary front is being pushed out by a mass of cooler, drier air headed our way from Canada (originally). Each little shower has dropped about 1/10 inch of rain and the ground is quickly slurping the wet stuff up. While rain seems to have been plentiful (at least 7 inches in my various absences) it doesn't take long for the heat of July to dry things out and that was the case, until today. And, today won't get my creek rolling again but it will sure water the moss and make a mushroom thinking about reproduction push up another toad stool - and there are still 100's everywhere here in the forest.
In the war (maybe a bad word) between the earthquake states, Oklahoma is again winning the battle for shakiest place to live in the contiguous US. A 4.4 quake rocked the Sooner state today and there had been almost a dozen aftershocks when I last checked which doubles up the Golden state today which also had a 4.0 quake and a few aftershocks. 4.4 will knock stuff off shelves and make you feel puny on the big planet; my guess, the oil companies will run even more ads championing the fracking that's causing all those Okie quakes with complete denial their exploding the earth could possibly be at fault.  De Nial, the American river of hypocrisy and greed.
WARNINGS: stay away from Colima in west central Mexico, Sinabung in western Sumatra and Ruang on Java unless viewing volcanoes and risking death is on your agenda. All 3 continue to fire ash, rock and lava from various vents with varying degrees of damage and mayhem in there respective countries. Vulcanologists list 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia alone; the risk/reward of rich soil and potential death and destruction we humans have always balanced.  I'll stick with composting and steer clear of volcanic farming.
Off the planet, the thickening waxing crescent is approaching the bright light of Spica, the wheat cluster that Virgo is holding. Tomorrow and Thursday night will find the moon right and then left of the bright star by about the same (7 degree) difference and here on the east coast it will cool and pleasant enough to go out and take a peak at the darkening sky. By the weekend the now slightly gibbous moon will slide just above Saturn.
Venus and Jupiter continue to sink lower in the west, a little every night with retrograding Venus catching back up with the king of the planets by month's end, then 6 degrees below the gas giant. Mercury pops into the mix late in the month but a clear sky, a westward view from a hill and likely binoculars will be needed to catch all that. Venus, soon at aphelion, it's farthest point from the sun, will therefore be closer to earth as it passes between the Earth and sun in mid-August. A telescope or good, steady binoculars will show our bright neighbor a long thin crescent, the horns of Venus. But, really, by August, Saturn will be alone in the evening sky.
For dwellers on the east coast, get ready to get out and enjoy, tomorrow on Earth - and the next several days. Cool, low dew point weather in late July is a treat to be experienced by all. Might even open the windows and let in some cool dry air, and the insect noises of the forest, today on Earth.

Remember when it was Mars just above Venus? Nothing but change out there!