Oh, hello, hollyhocks! There’s another flower about to open, which I am sure will happen later today as we are in for sun, high temps, and high humidity. In other words, the a/c will be turned on early in the day. Right now, it’s a bit humid, but cool enough to stroll around the property and take some pictures.
The milkweed is blooming. There are more plants than ever; so many, in fact, that I might have to thin them out next year. They’re taking over part of the big garden bed. The monarchs won’t come along until later in the summer.
The Secret Garden this morning. More than anywhere else on the property, the changes in light throughout the day are amazing. The rocks almost look like a wall here – but they’re not.
I’ve made Don promise to take a break today from hoeing, tending to his paths, getting rocks, etc. And I’m going to make him stick to it. He really loves working outdoors (new-found, I might add) and I’m happy that it is not only keeping him busy, but is making a big difference on the property. BUT, it’s going to be too hot and humid to do any of that and I have to rein him in. It’s as if our roles have been reversed. I used to be the one that had to be reined in and Don was constantly telling me to “stop and come in the house!” Now, I’m the one doing it.
We are going to make of goal our watching all eleven seasons of Cheers before July 1st, when it disappears from Netflix. I think we have ten more to go.
I’m enjoying Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz, one of my favorite mystery writers.
The puzzle is making me crazy at the moment. I have all of the edge pieces and am so close to being finished with that part of the process, but it’s not going together correctly. It’s maddening. I’m a bit under the weather, which isn’t helping my concentration. I’m hoping that later today I somehow figure it out.
Happy Father’s Day to my dad and Don’s dad and to Don, dad to all three of our dogs. And to all fathers out there.
Stay safe.
Happy Sunday.
i hope you’re feeling better and that you both take it easy today! also hope today (being father’s day) is easy on your hearts.
more pretty flowers. love the close-up details and the depth of field you get in your photos.
do you have ten episodes or ten seasons of “cheers” to watch by the end of this month? if it’s ten seasons, good luck! another reason (along with hot, sticky weather, a good book and a challenging puzzle) to stay indoors.
glad to have air conditioning here, too. we missed out on some big rain that was forecast … i was in my car (parked at the curb, talking with some members of my family) yesterday and we had about one minute of very light sprinkles. not enough!
best i get to doing what needs to be done around here.
hope you all have a nice day and stay safe!
kathy in iowa
ps … really happy for you that henry is back and you saw him!
10 episodes left. We watch at least 3 every evening. So we’ll be done in four days. We have watched all 11 seasons.
Stay safe, Kathy!
I noticed that you’re up to Day 100 and it’s the Summer Solstice! Still rainy today but sometimes the evenings are much nicer. It won’t be fully dark until just before 11p.m. tonight so I may do some gardening later.
There’s a new BBC drama series starting this evening, The Luminaries from the novel by Eleanor Catton , set in 19th century New Zealand. I remember wanting to read the book a couple of years ago but didn’t get around to doing so.
Thinking of my Dad who passed away in April 2014, he was a very able gardener with lots of great knowledge on the subject.
Happy Sunday
Enjoy that new series, Dee Dee. So many of us are missing our dads today. Stay safe!
A breath tucked in that little path would sure be pretty! Love it all!
I assume this is a typo. Do you mean a wreath? Stay safe, Suzanne!
Birdbath. A small one.
We thought of that, but our neighbor has cats that live outdoors. I monitor the birdbath by the Funky Patio, but there’s no way I could monitor one in the Secret Garden. So we passed on that idea.
xo
Quick question: Claudia, what type of camera do you use to get these lovely photos?
These were taken with my iPhone. But I also use a Canon camera.
Stay safe, Janice.
It’s so handy to shoot with an iPhone. I should probably update my 6S as I understand the newer models take better photos. Your close ups were very sharp.
It’s the iPhone XR, Janice. xo
Beautiful. Few flowers can take me back to childhood and my Grandma’s garden like a hollyhock 💖
I love them. They’re so old-fashioned in the best possible way!
Stay safe, Shanna.
I was so glad to see that Henry was back! What a comfort for you that must be.
We didn’t get near the rain we were predicted to get, so the backyard/garage wedding went off with only a couple of hitches. It was also seen digitally by e-invited relatives and friends. Oh, the wonders of Technology! Thanks for the positive vibes!!
I’m glad you are resting today…hauling rocks is back breaking work. Now, we just haul mulch these days, until I find a new rock. Happy Fathers Day to all fathers out there! Stay safe!
So glad the wedding was rain free, Donna! Congratulations to one and all! Stay safe.
Donnamae, I thought of you yesterday! We had some pretty heavy rain & thunder in the late afternoon, but we saw the kids today in Madison and they said they got very little, so I figured the wedding day was a success!! Yay!
I’m glad you guys are easing off on the rock moving today! They will be there — I want you there, too — all in one piece with a minimum of aches and pains! Besides, it’s Sunday — relax and joy the beauty of all you have done so far.
Good luck with the puzzle! Enjoy your day.
The major rock moving is done, Jeanie. It will just be smallish ones – and not all that many – in the future.
Stay safe!
Hope you are feeling better already!
Take care…
Thank you, Kelly! Stay safe.
Wow. Day 100.
You’ve gone from longish comments to very, very short comments. Teasing, of course.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Just trying to leave space for somebody else here to ‘talk’. (And not get too tuned up; because there’s certainly a lot in the news [politics] to get tuned up about [or my maskless neighbors and their large Father’s Day gathering yesterday; just no adherence and apparent denial or indifference or defiance {and total lack of caring about anybody else} when it comes to Southern California’s bad Covid numbers].)
You continue to stay safe, too. Thanks.
Take care, Vicki! I’m stunned by how many maskless people I see, though at least in my neck of the woods, they are the exception. xo
Glad you are taking a break and asking Don to take one, too. My husband is the same. He starts on something and goes at 100mph until he feels it is complete. I am forever following him around the yard with some water or juice. That crazy energy can be a blessing and/ or a curse!
Got to celebrate our son’s first Father’s Day with him today. At least I am pretty sure he was there….. we were kind of focused on a sweet little girl. Happy Father’s Day to everyone who is a Dad to human-kind and/or furry-kind!!
How lovely to celebrate this Father’s Day with your son and granddaughter! Perfect.
Stay safe, Chris.
Yes, important to pace yourself in this heat and humidity. Every time I see your hollyhocks, it takes me back to my childhood and the long row that grew against the side of our garage.
Both our kids are lobbying hard to come here for the Fourth. I feel a bit uneasy and guilty about feeling that way. Oldest son has never stopped working all this time in the shuttered hotel, Granted he’s there alone every night, and, except for briefly interacting with the person he relieves and then with his own relief person, he sees no one. It’s been a relief not to worry about him since besides his regular salary, he’s been earning hazard pay because of the pandemic in addition to some overtime. Additionally he’s able to pend his lonely nights on duty working on free lance animation jobs.
While the younger one has not been working, tonight he told us that his employer, a group that owns the two big theaters and a concert venue downtown, want to hold a trial “social distance concert” and asked Nick if his band would play. So, they’ll play indoors for a group of his fellow employees who will all be seated six feet apart. Then, 3 days he’d supposed to come here. With is girlfriend who also went back to work. Meanwhile, I’ve been studiously going nowhere but the grocery all these months. I guess if the weather cooperates and we can all stay outside, it’ll work. Life is a lot more complicated these days.
Enjoy your day of rest.
Kay
Oh, that’s a hard decision to make. First and foremost, you have to think of your safety and health. I would say only if you can be outside and 6 or more feet apart. Otherwise, put your foot down (nicely) if necessary.
Stay safe, Kay!
Excellent advice. :-)
K.
xo