A gray, sometimes rainy, day today. I’m thrilled. We desperately need rain and, although we’ve had a few gentle rainfalls since I’ve been sitting out on the porch this morning, I think we’re going to get some thunderstorms late in the day. Just as with peonies and catalpa blossoms, big storms seem to happen right as this is happening:

The hydrangeas are coming into full bloom. Heavy rain causes them to droop and there’s no way I can get all of them to stand up again, because I can’t reach in there! Hopefully, it won’t be too bad.

More flowers opening on the milkweed. I have so many of them this year. Milkweed flowers always remind me of millefiori paperweights. The glass flowers look very much like this.

I wasn’t called for Jury Duty on Monday (I’m pretty sure I’ll get called on Tuesday.) So I’m going into the city tomorrow morning instead of today. That way, I’ll get to spend Don’s birthday with him and also most of his day off on Monday.

I dug some more in the new garden bed. Besides nylons and socks (why??) I found these:

More pieces of the same china pattern and what looks like an old metal dog dish. One of those china pieces looks like part of the bottom of a teacup.

These daylilies are pretty spectacular: the color, the ruffled edge…beautiful.

And another rose bloomed the other day.

I’m just about to finish another novel! I finished the Lee Child last week and then I forced myself to start on one of John Connolly’s mysteries that I had in hardcover. I had tried to start it before, but I kept putting it down. That wasn’t due to the book – he’s one of my favorite writers – it was due to my being unable to concentrate. But one of the books I downloaded on my iPad was his newest, which just came out about a week ago, and I told myself I had to read this one first, as it was published last year and I think you need to read his books in chronological order. I’m looking forward to a rainy morning in which I can nestle into my chair in the den and enjoy and savor the last 100 pages of the book. It’s excellent.

Anyway, I’m so relieved to be reading again! I felt like part of me was missing during this dry period and I need  to read, just as I need food for sustenance.  Reading is now what it should be and what I desperately need it to be during these times, a welcome escape that settles my heartbeat, makes me breathe deeply, and takes me away from the awful state of things in this country.

Thank God for writers and books.

I’ll write a post for tomorrow and then I’ll probably take Monday off since I don’t want to haul my laptop in for such a quick visit. As for the rest of next week, we’ll see what happens with Jury Duty. They called numbers 1 – 75 for Monday and I’m number 134.

Happy Saturday.