Unlike some, we run a rather lean operation here at texts & pretexts: there’s not a single sou in our budget for the hiring of high-priced help to fill in when we decide it’s time to take some books away with us and take a break.

J & I are heading east for a couple of weeks, bracing ourselves for heat, humidity, and a plague of ravenous mosquitos. To add a further frisson, the area we’re heading to is close to Lyme, which means there will be ticks to deal with as well.

But the last time I was in Connecticut I saw fireflies, and if we find them on this trip I’ll be more than satisfied…