Hot Summer

Sometimes you are too hot, too sweaty, too tired to get up and take that shower.

Butterfly Head

Granny said after I made my bed,
And after I was fully fed,
After I put on that shirt dark red
After we had cleaned out the shed,
And if the sky was still blue overhead
We would go where I led.
But as we set out...
Wait, is that a butterfly on my head?

The Watch Frog

Throughout the world people use various means to protect their valuables. Besides technology we also use animals. In the U.S. (and elsewhere) dogs with their excellent sense of smell and hearing protect us from robberies. When I lived in Indonesia they used peacocks because they had a piercing call if a stranger approached the yard at night.

I guess I have a volunteer watch frog in the potted patio tomato...or perhaps he is just free-loading. The look he is giving me says "What's with all this drenching rain every morning?"

A screen saver for you'all

If you click on the photo it will be higher res and then just right click to save image to you PC!

Summer Lovin'?

While checking the new plants, I found the salvia and Russian sage and Veronica are tempting the lovely swallowtail butterflies to visit.

This gentle fellow (gal?) is almost lovelier on the front side!

Then suddenly a second appears and they immediately tangle on the ground. Are they fighting or mating?


Soon one leaves and the other in either extreme ecstasy or pain remains behind on the gravel and I slowly approach. He/she gathers needed energy and soon flies off into the air.

Freedom

Free to leap
Above the why
Into the arms
Of strange

Free to fly
Far from real
Into the arms
Of away

Free to sail
On the craft
Into the arms
Of sighs

Laughing and yelling and screaming with joy
I spin the sun at my command

An Evening

The fragile beauty of a summer evening as the sun begins its low glow above the silhouette of trees was the perfect time for sitting in a coasting canoe.

For a while we chased the reflection of the half moon up the river until we reached the end of a finger where the sanctuary begins. Small schools of bait fish bubbled ahead on the surface on each side of the bow. Quiet evening air was punctuated by the raspy call of the blue herons behind the marsh and later by the lyrical beauty of the warbler's call. We looked up to see a juvenile bald eagle without his balding color glide to land gracefully in the crook of a nearby tree becoming camouflaged against the darkening shadows.


The pink and purple surface of the water was gently rippled by the cool and welcoming breeze that also kissed our faces. Windows from houses nestled against the sheltering trees on the distant shore glowed warm and golden as the evening lamps were turned on.

Three blue herons glided smoothly ahead of us following the shoreline. One landed at the top of the tallest tulip tree and remained like a sentinel arching his neck and balancing his head in perfect yoga pose as we slid past below.

The sun's bright glow diminished rapidly, and reluctantly, we turned back skirting the gray fingers of fallen trees near the shore as we headed toward home.

Ha Ha...!

The house is quiet as the sun is not quite up. I am standing in the bathroom washing my face. I hear a repeated bird call in the nearby woods that sounds a little different.

ME: "Do you hear that bird call?"
HUBBY: (Lying peacefully in bed.) "Yeah."
ME: "What is that?"
HUBBY; "A cardinal"
ME: "Gee. Sounds a little different, sort of raspy. Like it has a sore throat."
HUBBY: "You'd sound raspy too if you spent the better part of your day beating your head against a window."

Sometimes a Surprise

After the hectic weekend of guests and grandchildren, we decided a woodland walk was in order to calm our spirits and return our pace back to something more rhythmic and less jazzy. We discovered a new state park nearby that warrants a return visit. It seemed that the time of fungus is upon us.

That is the Plan...

A naive person might think that having an open grassy space would make it easy to put in some flower beds and trees. But that cannot be the process. This is the beginning of planning for our rather plain front yard with gravel driveway. I am hoping that the stark and rather formal look will mellow once the plants fill in and spill over. The wild raspberries on the right side will have to be removed, unfortunately, because they are so invasive. Now that our raspberry buses are int he ground and starting to produce we may not miss these so much. We have to have raised beds because the ground is hard packed clay even after adding a layer of top soil! The bed in the back by the garden and the one in the front still needs edging in brick. Trees and maybe more beds will be added over the years and if we find the deer continue to leave us alone. I am also hoping to widen the sidewalk entry( not shown) somewhat as it is too narrow. I do not know how to pour and level cement, so maybe I will have to settle for some pavers?