2025

I arrive at the Barn Swallow nest... Oh! The Spider webs have been swept away!

Well, that should make things a little easier!

Everybody is moving around a lot again today... but that one on the end is all Tryin' to sleep, here!

Minnows!

Okay! There's all five!

Their sweet little faces!

Another Tule Bluet!

And their cute little tufts of fluffy baby feathers showing here and there!

It is SO much fun to watch them! But I am sure they'll be flying away soon. I'll be sad to see them go, but they must make their way in the world! :)

A very quick stop at the Garden. The Accidental Lemon Cucumber is still putting out new leaves! It has hung on to life for so long... I'm starting to think it's going to grow and make some cucs one day!

And I'm out... but as I leave I see that someone has forgotten to lock the gate. ARG! There's a car in the parking lot, but no one within sight of the gate.

Gah, that pisses me off so much... I wonder if this guy was around last year when everything from our tool shed got stolen.

And you know it's a guy! Women have to think about safety all the time... a woman is never going to forget to lock up! Especially if it looks like she's the only one here!

Stupid men. Stupid, stupid men. *grumbles*

well. I get down to the creek and I let go of my grumpiness with ducklings!

oh, haha! Photo bombed by a dragonfly flying by!!

Hi Babies!

Oh! There's four!

All so cute and precious!

Further down stream, I meet up with the Great Blue Heron who I've been seeing here lately. I've been thinking about calling her or him Neo. :)

And then a Scrub Jay fledgling on the bike path curve...

*laughs* Bouncing around and too excited about life to bother with decent photography!

As I approached the Barn Swallow bridge, I reminded myself the babies should fledge soon... they might not be there!

But as I came up, I could hear excited twitterings! They're still here! And when I look at the nest... Two babies!!

They are fledging today!! Yay, I get to see them fledge!

Traditionally, the babies come out here and sit in the branches of the Willow trees.

I walk back and forth a couple times, but I don't see the other three right away.

Okay, parents are still feeding the babies in the nest!

Oh, haha!

Babies, you're going to need to reach for your food!

Okay! Let's go look for your siblings!

I'm walking back and forth. Back and forth.

And then I see some movement in the branches! One of the babies was exercising their wings!

And where is your sibling? Baby #5?

Hmmm... I search the thicket, but I never do find them. They must be close by! Maybe hidden better in the leaves?

Haha, the babies still in the nest are napping... too sleepy to fledge!

The fledglings out in the world, on the other hand are looking around... mostly keeping an eye out for a parent with food, but also looking at every new thing!

Okay. I'm going to the garden for a quick watering and then I'll come back for a couple more pics of the babies before they go!

As I'm walking down to the gate...

Ha. That looks like a Sungold! None of my Sungolds have ripened yet, but someone else's plant must have!

Aww! Her Tongue! haha!

A very tasty meal?

My Sungolds and the Green Zebra have fruits coming on, but they are still very green!

The Spaghetti Squash seedling is still in one piece. Do I dare hope?

And Look! The second round of Wax Beans are deigning to live!

That's nice. Maybe I should plant the third round soon, since the slugs are letting a couple leaves live now.

And if the slugs are done, maybe the transplanted Tomatillo will live as well!

And the Patty Pan is small, but it's starting on some fruits!!

and the big Crookneck is getting a couple more fruits on the other side as well!

The ProCut Red is starting to make a bloom as well!

This ladybug without spots is an invasive Asia Lady Beetle. The first one I've seen this year.

Well. Oops. I didn't mean to stay so long at the garden. But everything is looking so hopeful for the first time this year!

And look! The Sugar Snap Peas are about as tall as the Elephant Garlic blooms!

Going back to the Barn Swallow bridge... but as I come up to it. Oh my gosh!!

Can we say Challenging lighting conditions? *laughs*

I fiddle with the camera a bit. And she let's me get a little closer!

So Awesome! I wonder if this is the same Green Heron I saw the other day?

I walk to the other side of the bridge and look at the Barn Swallow nest... What the HECK?!!

*laughs* All five! Back in the nest!

What? Did you decide today is NOT the day to fledge after all??!

And Boom. All the babies are napping! Their funny looking pale coloured eyelids!

Zonked out! It's been a hard day!

Oh, hang on! Time to wake up again!

So this is crazy that the babies came back to the nest. I head home... but I really wonder what I will find there tomorrow? Will they be fledging out to the thicket again? Or just plain gone?

As I come around to the bike path curve... oh wow!

It has been years and years since I've seen any deers here!

I move around to the other side, but I'm not getting any luck with the photography. That's okay, I don't want to disturb her.

It's awesome just to see her!

We are coming off the latest heat wave... it was 96° at the beginning of the week and today it's cloudy and the high is 80°!!

The hot weather is survivable so far this summer. We'll have three or four days of 90s and then we'll have three or four days of cooler weather. When you can see the end of the 90° days, it's more tolerable.

Hi Neo!

Right before the Barn Swallow bridge, the Green Heron is hanging out here again!

I've never gotten the chance to name a Green Heron before!! But I think this is at least the third time I've seen this one. :) (Or maybe the fourth!)

She doesn't let me get quite as close today, before she flies away.

Well. And the babies?

... Yep, looks like five lumps up there.

Children, children! I thought you were going to fly away yesterday!?

The parents are coming in with food every couple of minutes!

They swoop in so quickly.

And then they are gone in a split second!

Oh my gosh! The baby on the end just FLEW AWAY!

Oh. And she's back! Bahaha!

She's trying to jam herself back into the nest...

Hey! You're standing on my wing!

Dude! Gah!

*laughs* They are so squished in there!

Okay, I'm going to take a break and go to the garden and then come back. Maybe by then they will be brave and fledge out to the trees... Or maybe they'll be so annoyed at each other, they'll fly out for some freedom!

The big Crookneck at the front of the plot makes me happy.

And the healthy Lemon Cucumber is so happy as well!

But, aww dang it. The Spaghetti Squash seedling.

Wilt Disease. And that's it. That was the last chance for any winter squashes.

It's a sad garden that doesn't have winter squashes.

Sighs.

Wow, I don't know what this plant is, just over the border in the Pot People's plot...

But it is a Very popular place!

There's a bloom on my Aubergine! The plant is pretty small yet, tho.

Heading out, but these are pretty little things!

And I'm back at the Barn Swallow nest... where we still have all five lumps.

Children. Will you ever fly free?

Just... don't get me started on it being *Air Quotes* Independence Day. I mean, please people. There is nothing to celebrate as the US goes down into fascism.

Nevermind.

Let's see what's going on with the Barn Swallow babies today!

Oh my gosh... The Green Heron is here AGAIN!!

I've decided to name them Greenie. *laughs* Not very original, huh. *shrugs* It's totally exciting to see someone who is ordinarily pretty shy!

Greenie flies away before I can get decent photography, and I pause a moment before going to the other side of the bridge where the Barn Swallow nest is.

I don't hear the excited twittering that I heard on Wednesday, when 3 of the 5 babies were out in the thicket. It's quiet.

Oh! Just a little bit too far away. But this is a female River Jewelwing. A damselfly.

Okay... Yep, empty!

I check the Willow trees, just in case, but no... The babies are gone! At least someone has some freedom today!

I am so proud of the Barn Swallow parents for getting another batch of babies into the sky! I'm so glad they let me watch for a little while.

Okay, back to the garden...

There's a Green Zucchini on the way!

The plant is kind of pathetic and small, but it's trying. oh, that broken stem? That is wind damage from the day I planted it. Stupid Climate Change Wind.

The Crookneck over here is actually bigger and more healthy than the poor Green Zuc...

It's got a fruit coming as well. The little squash at the bottom is a Crookneck I planted as a seed. And the plants on the right are Buckwheats and Favas... Summer cover crops that aren't doing a great job of Covering! *laughs*

The ProCut Red Sunflower is still on the way.

And Look!! The first big harvest of Sugar Snap Peas!!

Yay! I've been eating 4 or 5 pods most every day for about a week or so. And now there's finally enough to bring home!

I'm out, and here's Neo the Great Blue Heron at the creek again.

Missed? Bummer.

It's Independence Day here in the US, but there's nothing to celebrate.

The news has been making me cry for a week. And now Republicans have passed the big beautiful bill.

It will break the United States.

I mean, the US is already broken... women can't get complete healthcare in half the states. We are not full citizens anymore. And we are cutting off healthcare to others, now as well. And with all the anti-DEI... If you're not a white, cishet man, it seems you're not a person, here in the US...

But the bill...

I honestly didn't realize how many evil people there are in this country.

Why else would Republicans vote for this, if they aren't evil?

And the thing that terrifies me...

ICE. The concentration camps we are building.

We've been deporting people without due process. And we are already doing government sanctioned kidnapping of people who are here legally. We've deported US Citizens! In what world is that okay? And giving ICE so much more money?

We are seriously heading into ethnic cleansing territory.

With Liberty and Justice For All? ... nope, white men only.

So. Take care. Take care of your people, when you can. Take care of yourself. Take care of your mental health.

Now... scroll down and go look at some Nature pictures.

Or! Better yet... go outside and look at some actual Nature! :)

Enjoy the sun on your skin, make some vitamin D. Be sure to keep hydrated! Or enjoy the night air, and be sure to keep hydrated!

Look closely at a plant! Has a bird flown by yet?

The Cicadas have been singing in my part of the world for a few weeks. What sound of nature do you hear?

I walk out past the garden to see if my new friend Greenie, the Green Heron is at the Barn Swallow bridge. Nope.

I look at the minnows instead!

I love to watch them. They startle at my movement as I'm watching them, and then they calm down. They also startle at dragonflies flying low over the water!

Oh, funny! While I'm watching the minnows, motion at the Barn Swallow nest catches my eye. A Barn Swallow flutters at the nest for a few seconds!

They fly away and I don't even pay attention to which way they went... because I'm all UM?

*laughs* Was that a fledgling thinking about getting back into the nest? It could have been a parent, visiting the nest just out of habit, but the little bit of fluttering I saw wasn't very graceful. Pretty sure that was kid, learning how to fly.

Funny, Kid! You can't go back home!

Lorquin Admiral!

These are very popular Butterflies this year!

The most common butterflies here are Cabbage Whites. I also occasionally see Fritillaries and the big Western Tiger Swallowtails.

But these Lorquin Admirals, I've never seen them so often, in years past!

At the Community Garden, there's a lady standing right at the gate. She doesn't move out of the way, even as I play with the padlock. As I open the gate she said she was watching an Anna Hummingbird.

Oh Cool! I look in the direction she's facing and yep, there's a Hummer at the blooms of some Scarlet Runner Beans! As I get organized with the camera, the hummingbird moves over to... an Asparagus plant? huh...

She stays for a minute or so... she must be getting something out of those tiny Asparagus blooms?

*laughs* Artsy!

Well, that's awesome. I've not seen many Anna Hummers this year. And now I miss My Garden Supervisor, a male Anna who staked out his territory from the garden plot behind mine.

He reigned for years!

No one replaced him, after he died. Which surprises me, because you'd think the Garden would be prime territory for hummingbirds!

Okay, on to my plot!

The Green Zebra, this year's experimental tomato flavor, is getting some fruits on!!

I also have to admire the Buckwheat blooms... there are a couple of Buckwheats at the front of the Fallow Area that are getting really big! About three feet tall, and loads of branches!

Their blooms are tiny but ridiculously attractive!

The big Crookneck. Grow! Grow! Grow!

The Healthy Lemon Cucumber.

And from this angle -- crouched down, looking at the Lemon Cucs -- the ProCut Red almost looks like a respectable sunflower. *laughs* It's only about 4½feet tall!

Here's the regular view, as I'm leaving the garden...

Those are the Elephant Garlic blooms, and you can just see the precious Basil plant in the lower right. The similar, round blooms at the top left are the Leeks from last year that I never harvested.

And on the way home... the very invasive Himalayan blackberries are making some fruits!

There's a few that are ripening to black, but I don't pick any to eat yet... they'll be too tart!

I walk down to the bridge... I suppose I shouldn't call it the Barn Swallow bridge now that the babies have fledged!

Turbidity is up in the creek. I don't know what gets flushed out into our waterway during the summer, but it makes things terrible.

I can hardly see the regular Minnows, since they are transparent. But here's a black one!

I watch my finny friend for a bit... but one of my photos...

Weird! ... So... Weird!

I think it's just an amalgam of random bits -- that's obviously a feather there. But it looks so much like someone's skeleton!!

Weird!

At the garden, I'm doing a bit of weeding around the big trellis.

Here's the cute little Mystery transplant! It's growing well.

And the second round of Wax Beans is definitely recovering! In fact, there's enough plants coming back to life, that I'm thinking I won't plant seeds for a third round!

And Yeah, more weeding needs to happen there! ha! But there are 10 or 11 Wax Bean plants regrowing leaves, on BOTH sides of the trellis!

And Look! This is the Tomatillo that was growing in the pathway, that I dug up and moved! It's got new leaves and it looks like it's going to recover from it's leaf damage as well!

WOOHOO!! One of the Nasturtium seeds has come up!!!

I am thrilled to pieces! I didn't think any were going to grow! And look how cute it is, with it's little purple leaf backs! Yay!

Here's today's harvest.

*laughs* Well, it's something!

I happen to notice some movement on one of my Dandelions... Whoa! Who are you?!

Box Elder Bugs have that red X... but not all the other decorations...

Hmm. I think they are Western Small Milkweed Bugs

Oh my gosh, look at their cute face! Awww!

On the walk home, I see someone sitting at the edge of the bike path, staring intently at the other side of the creek. I look where she's looking... Oh Wow!!

Aww! That's Mama Raccoon with the tails of two babies!

Oh, I'm so happy to see them! We need more wildlife around here!!

We're dealing with the next little heat wave... 88° yesterday and the forecast called for 95° (35°C) today but it only got to 92°. And low-90s again for tomorrow.

At home, without air conditioning, I'm perfecting a make-shift swamp cooler for the upstairs...

Overnight, I open up the porch room and have the box fan bringing in cool air. I close the downstairs around 9:30am or so, and pull the shades to block the sun.

In the afternoon, I bring the box fan upstairs and put it in my doorway, blowing out. I soak some towels and drape them over the stair railing and point the fan to bounce the air off the wet towels and then it goes thru partners room. And he's got another box fan, blowing air out.

It works!

The upstairs does get pretty hot. But the downstairs remains cool thru the day. At the hottest, it's at least 15° cooler than the high of the day.

Heading out! At the bridge, Greenie the Green Heron is here!

And s/he lets me get closer today! Aw, so nice!

Keeping a suspicious eye on me tho!

I decide to leave before they fly away, for once! But here is the view I see from the bike path.

At the garden, there's just one car in the parking lot. So I'm walking up and down the paths, looking at other garden plots.

Someone's Artichoke is blooming!

That is such a lovely shade of purple and I've thought about getting an Artichoke for our garden plot... it makes the bees so happy...

But... the plant is ridiculously big. And spiky! And if you want to eat any Artichoke hearts, you have to harvest the blooms before they get to this point!

And when you think about the couple of yummy mouthfuls of food you get from the hearts... and compare that to how big the plant is. *laughs* The math just doesn't do it!

So, really, it's better that I content myself by looking at Artichokes in other plots!

I go by my friend Roz's plot.

He's got Raspberries ripening!

Illegal Raspberries! The Community Garden rules say Caning berries such as raspberries, blackberries and marionberries are only allowed if grown in pots.

*eye roll* Yes. The rules have gotten VERY stupid, and I'm glad Roz is defying them as well!

I get to my plot and start looking around.

ARG! Another damn branch fell off one of the Tomatillos!

That's a huge branch to lose! Are the slugs doing this damage?? Jerks.

Look at that. gah. Maybe I should pull back my hope from these, too. But, no. Tomatillos are tough. They will keep growing and I'm sure there will be more fruits than I can eat in the end.

Well. Here are the things that make me happy right now.

Sugar Snap Peas, yum!

And the Healthy Lemon Cucumber.

And the Small Strawberry plant with it's pet Nasturtium!

I wasn't watching the news at all. After the official end of USAID and then the Big Beautiful Bill... I just needed a break.

But over the weekend, Partner mentions something about floods in Texas.

Eventually some news trickles down to me.

So. Once upon a time DOGE slashes and hobbles the National Weather Service (NWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA).

The local NWS, in San Angelo was MISSING a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge. The NWS in nearby San Antonio, also had significant vacancies, including a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer. On top of that, they are no longer able to staff the office 24/7 like they usually do.

All of those vacant positions are needed during climate emergencies. But DOGE thinks they are wasteful and fraudulent. So we don't have our experts doing their expert things, and people die.

Kids die.

∞ Trump And Elon Musk's Texas Chainsaw Massacre They just killed 27 little girls. You know it and I know it and they know it.

And...

∞ Trump and Texas point fingers as flood death toll rises

Entirely predicted, and entirely unnecessary.

So, yep. I'm back to reading the news and crying about it.

A blurry Chickadee who flew away before the camera could get a focus.

aw. It's been ages since I've been able to get pics of little birds. Here's a Song Sparrow.

It's been nesting season, so of course I don't see little birds because they are keeping a low profile. But also the new climate change wind keeps me from finding birds in the trees, even when I can hear them singing.

Just past the bridge, a colourful mess in the creek.

Neo?

Oh, you're not Neo. Look at that mackerel sky design of the feathers!

I hear a ruckus and look up... Red Shoulder Hawk!

There are two Lesser Goldfinches yelling and letting everyone know there's a predator in their midst!

The closer Lesser is barely a meter away! Granted, Red Shoulders would prefer a snake for lunch, but still! Very brave!

The other Lesser Goldfinch, who is further away, is bouncing around and yelling in every direction!

So awesome!

And back to the garden. Where I walk by someone's grape vines.

And in my plot... The Brandywine has a bunch of flowers but no fruit yet...

Mmmm! The Brandywine is the biggest and healthiest of all the tomato plants this year, and I have delicious hopes!! Brandywines are my favorite, but the plants aren't usually very productive. but I think this plant is going to supply me with an abundance!

Oh my gosh! Under the small trellis...

A Nasturtium seedling! I totally forgot that I had planted some seeds here as well! ha! I can't believe the are actually coming up! There's three that have popped up! Yay!

And the three that have come up at the front of the plot are growing well, too!

*laughs* it's probably silly to get so excited about a couple of seedlings... but I've never had much success with planting seeds directly. That's why I always buy so many veggie starts to transplant.

But this year, the Crookneck seeds (well, some Crookneck seeds, anyway) AND these Nasturtiums have come up and lived. There's a couple Beets as well, except I planted dozens of those seeds and not many came up.

The Snap Peas and Wax Beans I plant as seeds as well, along with a few transplants I buy. And usually those are successful.

And speaking of the Sugar Snap Peas... one of the Snap Pea plants is actually a Green Pea plant! The pods are inedible!!

Ha! From the placement, this plant was from seed. So there must have been a mixup in the seed packet!

This cute little thing has come up near the front Nasturtiums. I think I'll keep it and see what it grows up to be!

The big Crookneck is coming right along!

And the Lemon Cucumbers at the small trellis!

Let me tell you about my exercise routine, because I've been having wild success all of a sudden!

In the morning, I do some shoulder stretches. I had tendonitis in my shoulder one time, and I just kept doing the stretches that helped the most. And then I do a tiny little, five minute workout which includes single foot heel raises on the bottom step, half pushups, lunges, and rarely some kind of goblet squats.

The half pushups have always been very difficult for me. When I started, however many years ago, I literally couldn't even do one! I had to start with some plank time, dropping slowly, and eventually I could get myself back up.

Slowly, slowly... It took more than a year, I'm not sure how long? but I got up to 10 half pushup!

I plateaued around ten for a long time. But in December 2024, I was starting to be able to do 11 and sometimes 12! Woo! Exciting.

But then in January 2025, I had Covid19. I got over the sickness, but it took about a month to recover my energy. And when I experimented getting back to the half pushups in February, I could only do 3 to 5!

Fortunately, it didn't take me another year to get back to ten! It took a month. But I was stuck again at my old plateau of 10.

But, roundabout in May I started adding extra half pushups again. One here, another in a week or so, every once in a while I'd get up to 15 and then I'd need a break and only do 11 the next day. A little bit more, and a little bit more!

Yesterday I did 19 half pushups. And today I was able to do 19 half pushups AGAIN!

YAY! Party! I like being strong!

*laughs*

A new Western Grey Squirrel has been coming around lately, and I finally caught his photo, looking out my bedroom window.

It's cooler today... a high of blissful 80°! So I'll walk a little bit, maybe stop by the garden if I feel like it on the way back.

Greenie the Green Heron!

It's nice that s/he is standing in a more picturesque spot! It's just a couple meters downstream from the bridge spillover where they usually stand.

Thank You Dear! It's so nice of you to stay and let me look at you!

The Leaning Tree saplings.

The Crows are having a meeting.

A murder of crows, right? *laughs*

I do decide to go in and look at the garden plot.

The Sungold in the Fallow Area is showing a little colour!

And I gather some Sugar Snap Peas to take home!

And on the way home, I check on the invasive Himalayan Blackberries along the bike path. Mmmm! Getting closer to ripe!

It's overcast this morning and a high of 85°... and it looks like this will be the last nice summer day for a while. Nothing but 90s in the forecast, and even getting up to 99° (37°C) next Tuesday. ugh.

So we must enjoy TODAY!

I walk out to the bridge, and there's a new kind of dragonfly flying around! Blue Stripes!

I'm very excited, but they are all busy, busy, and nobody sits for some photography. So I attempt to catch them while they are flying. I need something to look at for identification, in case those stripes aren't unique! Meh...

Okay! Here we go!

Blue Eye Darner! Awesome!

At the garden, I stop to look at a neighbor's Petunias.

The red flowers on the right are some kind of ... Snapdragon? hmm. Actually, no. It's something else... Snapdragons are bigger plants and have a stalk with lots of flowers, not singletons like that.

While I'm contemplating, I'm hearing an Anna Hummingbird sing. I keep glancing around, but don't see him. As I get up to go to my plot, I finally triangulate the sound.

Ha! I just have to look straight up!

*laughs* He's a juvenile, not yet received his iridescent balaclava.

And at my plot, Yay! ProCut Red!

I'm doing some weeding today. I saw the invasive Horseradish in the east neighbor's plot was starting to come up in my plot. And then I just went down the border pulling up grass and whatever looked annoying!

I stopped before hitting the front of the plot, but the beets could stand some weeding too. Another day.

There's some sunflowers blooming in front of the compost heap. They are short and not very sturdy looking, but beautiful!

Back at my plot... The first ripening Sungold on the plant in the Fallow Area.

And this Green Zuc is about the size you'd get at the grocery. But there's no more coming on, so I'll let this one get big before I harvest it!

The Crookneck, on the other hand!

And nearby, one of the Nasturtiums I planted as seed!

And the Healthy Lemon Cucumber plant!

Oh yeah! I wonder when I will pick those Lemon Cucs, hiding there under the leaves!

Heading to the Garden to get some work done! But first I go out to the bridge. The minnows have caught my eye today.

So cute!

Back at the garden... that ProCut Red Sunflower is looking quite stately!

The pinkish balls are the Elephant Garlic blossoms, and the darker green plant in the lower right is the Patty Pan... one of just three summer squashes that have lived thru the murdering bugs this spring.

That white sheet is a row cover... Kevin explained that he had transplanted a tomato plant that had gotten huge at home. The row cover is to prevent sunburn. We are going into another heatwave, 90° days without an end in the forecast.

I'm going to weed both sides of the big trellis, where the second round of Wax Beans are doing a good job of recovering from the slugs.

Here's the south side of the trellis, before I started weeding. The north side is a little bit less weedy, and that's where I start working.

I'm pulling out Crab Grass, the regular Quack Grass, Smart Weed, some Dandelion type plants, a couple Borages, tho I decide to keep those bigger ones on the right!

There are a couple volunteer Tomato plants, too, that I pull out... In general it's the Sungolds that volunteer, since I can't eat all the fruits they make! Unfortunately, the next generation is yucky tasting, plain red cherry tomatoes. Nothing like the delightful candy sweet Sungolds!

I had to pull out several baby trees as well! Ha, I remember how busy the squirrels were, when I was hauling leaves in November! But they never got around to eating so many tree nuts and seeds! I've had to pull a dozen or more growing trees this year!

On the north side, the Wax Beans and the moved Tomatillo look more free. I've kept a couple small Speedwell plants, tho... They will make tiny blue flowers, and I like them!

And on the south side, I didn't quite get finished: that green patch just to the right of center is grass, both Quack and Crab. I'll get that out another day.

The green patch right above my shadow is a big ol' Dandelion! I've kept all the Dandelions that got established in the spring. They are a good plant to bring up nutrients from the depths!

And the precious Basil at the left... I think it's finally got it's roots happily established. It's just looking suddenly a lot better. Brighter and more cheery!

And that Mystery plant, to the left, has been growing as well... The leaves seem pretty distinctive, but I've not bothered to ask google about it yet.

As I was watering, I noticed I accidentally soaked a Bumblebee. Oops! I saw her struggling and I scooped her up so that she could dry off on my hand.

*laughs* Poor bedraggled girl! She was so tired, she didn't even bother to buzz her wings to help them dry! I carried her around until I was done watering.

And then I offered to put her on some Sungold blooms? Nope, she refused! How about some Borage? Yep, that's fine! *smiles*

Good Morning, Fledgling!

And Good Morning, Neo! With some invasive Sweet Peas to make a pretty picture!

At the bridge, there's Tule Bluets flying around. This one is a tiny bit too far away for good photos.

Tule Bluets are damselflies who are much smaller than dragonflies. The internets say this damselfly is 1.1 to 1.5inches long, where our common dragonflies here, Eight Spot Skimmers are 1.7 to 2inches long.

A Lorquin Admiral makes a quick appearance before fluttering away.

At the garden plot... Yay! First sighting on the Brandywine!!!

And another one over here! And look at all the flowers!!

And there's a first fruit on the Old German as well!

And the first ripening cherry tomato on the Half Dead Sungold!

Both Sungolds and the Old German this year have small leaves and look really pathetic. Possibly missing some nutrients, even tho both got some of that compost dirt in the spring And I've been giving them fertilizer along the way as well. I should do some soil testing, except that I'm so lazy. :)

Plenty of fruits coming on, tho, so that's good.

That's the one thing that kept me going when the bugs and slugs were killing all the squashes and cucumbers and beans... I will have tomatoes! *laughs*

And here's the Aubergine.

Ha, the Tomatillo I moved from the pathway still looks pathetic, but it has a bloom on it! I should probably remove that, but the plant is so little and delicate looking I don't want to mess with it!

There's a Patty Pan thats coming up to size...

But today is all about this!

Yay Food! *laughs*

Well. I've been putzing around here for far too long, it's well after noon and it's hot and I've drunk all of the water I brought. So I fill up my backpack with the squashes and head out.

But as I leave by the side gate, something at the front of the Community Garden catches my eye... Oh my gosh!

Freebie veggie starts!! And that looks like squash!

Oh... arg! I desperately want some of those squash plants! But I'm dying in the heat, I need to go. But, arg!

I left. Oh, I hope there will be some left tomorrow.

To be 99° today and a tie with the record set in 1996. blah.

But I'm excited to head to the garden... to see about those freebie veggie starts on the picnic table!

Oh hey! A new dragonfly! I think he's a Blue Dasher. A bit smaller than the regular Eight Spot Skimmers here! What beautiful eyes you have!

And not afraid to sit on a twig for a rest! *laughs* That's a dragonfly personality trait that makes me happy!

And the Tule Bluet damselflies like to sit as well, tho they are always a bit too far away for decent photography...

And this one has to remind us about how horrid humans are.

Wait. That Ladybug does not have a head! Did you think that little damselfly ate her head??!

Just outside the Community Garden: a fledgling Scrub Jay.

Yes! There are a few freebies left! Even better... the labels say those are winter squashes! Yay!

I decided to get a couple more plants. I mean, what the heck, I've got room since so much has died this spring! I take one of the tomato plants and some kind of bean as well.

I carry them carefully to my plot and have a quick glance around.

Oh no! The Accidental Lemon Cucumber! Died!

Well. That's the end of an era. I'm down to 3 Lemon Cucumbers now, instead of 3½. Sighs. But yeah, it just wasn't growing properly. And look at the base of it's poor stem...

I decide to plant the new winter squash in its place under the big trellis with the Wax Beans...

The tag says Bonbon Buttercup. *laughs* When I look it up, the internets say the fruits are 4 to 5 pounds. hmm. Will that fit in my backpack? ha. Well, we have a long way to go before that becomes a concern!

I put the new bean plant at the other end of the trellis, in an empty patch where the Wax Beans were murdered in a permanent way.

And dang it, I regret that I didn't finish the weeding here! *snort*

The tag says Sorana, and oops: it's a dry bean. I've never done dry beans before. And it looks like the pods will be yellow... I hope I can tell the difference with the Wax Beans it's growing with. Ha!

Oh. And also. You can't call it Sorana.

∞ Bean, Pole Dry, 'Pescia'

In the same way that champagne only comes from a specific area, and outside that area the result must be called sparkling wine! Sorana beans are only grown in an area in Italy, and they have to be called something else when they are grown elsewhere. So Pescia it is!

And then the tomato plant I got is called Perth Pride! That's fun!

It's a cute little thing... to be a dwarf plant.

And all three of the veggie starts I got today are super healthy looking, even tho they are terribly root bound in their little starter pots! I hope they live!

I give everybody a good soaking. And notice the Nasturtiums are doing well.

The view of the south side of the big trellis from the ProCut Plum... with the beautiful basil, and that big dandelion ha.

And look how beautiful the ProCut Red is!!

Wow, stunning!

Hottest day of the year, so far, and it gets miserable in the house, thru the afternoon. The make shift swamp cooler does help but the upstairs hits 80° a bit after noon and 90° around 7pm. Yuck!

The downstairs tops out at 84° which is livable.

But I'm thinking this might be the year where I break down and get a stupid window air conditioner. But, ugh, I hate to even think about it. Air conditioners are just contributing to the problem of climate change... and I don't want to contribute to the problem! I want to be part of the solution!

Yesterday hit a terrible high of 99° (38°C) but now we've got a couple days of low 90s before we hit the next 99°.

That's how it's been going this summer... A few days of very hot weather, followed by a few days of more normal weather. (Normal for this time of year is 84/52.)

It definitely makes the hot weather more bearable when you can see the end of it. Except highs in the low 90s hardly counts as normal!

But I hope the weather continues to break up the very hot days... after all, the summer has only just begun!

Cute, cute babies!

oh foo. This is a terrible picture, but the only one I got with two different species of dragonflies...

The top one is the new-to-me Blue Dasher dragonfly, who is noticeably smaller than the Common Whitetail dragonfly.

Well, at least one species sticks around for decent photography!

His poor wing. And the other one is starting to fall apart as well. It probably hurts and must definitely make flying more challenging.

I heard peeping, and a little bit further upstream is a Mama Mallard with some younger babies!

Okay, to the garden.

I'm checking on the veggie starts I put in yesterday. oh crud! The Buttercup is wilted.

I think its just from being too stinking hot... rather than the bacterial Wilt Disease that's been killing so many plants this year. I will water the heck out of it!

The dry bean - Pescia - has some sun damage on it's biggest leaves. But the smaller leaves at the core are fine.

Those are some Borages under it... I don't want to pull them out until I'm sure the bean plants will make it!

And the Perth Pride could use some water as well.

It really has pretty leaves...

The Internets say Perth Pride is a regular leaf, dwarf variety that produces round, medium sized fruit that ripen to a dusky rose purple hue. The flavor is intense and distinctly tart, and the variety is quite prolific.

So that sounds very interesting!

The other experimental tomato variety I've got this year is the Green Zebra, and it's getting some fruits on!

The Sungold in the Fallow Area is showing some colour!

The other sunflower, the ProCut Plum, is just a little bit behind the ProCut Red.

Today's harvest.

And the neighbor across the path, to the south also offered some yellow zucchini! She has too much, and Heck Yeah! Happy to take extras off her hands, since my summer squashes have yet to do much.

I'm heading out but I stop to admire the precious Basil... and the Buttercup on the other side of the trellis has perked up with some water!

This rainbow windsock was new last year... kind of faded now! But still a cheerful thing!

This is the climbing rose near the Flickers nest!

Ha!

Oh! One of the Raccoon youngsters is out again!!

And there's the other sibling!

I don't see Mama, but she's undoubtedly around.

And the kids never turn around, either. bummer. But it is great to see them, anyway!

I am very out of sorts today. Partner isn't going along with my efforts to keep the house cool and I was screaming mad about it.

The long days of heat are just wearing on our nerves. 91° today again, and 98° forecast tomorrow. and then at least two or three more days in the low 90s before it cools off to normal temps. It's hard to endure.

So I'm out for some nature time.

Greenie!

And then...

Huh! That's a female Common Whitetail dragonfly!

The dragonfly gives a little buzz.

And then comes back to settle. Greenie gives me a look.

The dragonfly changes her mind about her resting spot, flies away. And Greenie is rolling her eyes!!! Bahahaha!

Greenie goes back to her regular hunting for minnows or frogs or whatever!

And in Dragonfly Land I happen to catch a male Common Whitetail!

At the Community Garden there's just one car in the parking lot and I decide to walk around. The Pollinator Garden in the front has inherited some Gladiolus.

They are pretty, but they aren't a native and I don't think any of our pollinators are interested!

My friend Roz is in his garden plot and I stop to chat with him. He shares some of his Raspberries with me and says he's been making videos to put up on YouTube!

Oh that's cool! He says most of them are in Farsi but the video on Fourth of July was a good one. He tells me how to find his channel and I make an effort to memorize his last name.

∞ Happy 4th from the Community Garden

Ha! How awesome is that!!

I wander around to my plot. oh FFS.

*Wails* That was Lemon Cucumber number three.

What happened??! WHY????

Aww. I'm so sad. Now I'm down to two Lemon Cucumber plants, plus the seedling. And what killed this one? Will the others be killed as well??! WAI!

Gah. Stupid garden, anyway.

*breathe* okay. Well. Focus on the good.

Here's the big trellis, with the ProCut Plum Sunflower and the Basil.

And for some reason the Buttercup is still alive.

And the core leaves of the dry bean are still good.

And I'm able to harvest the very first Patty Pan! and the second Crookneck from the big plant!

I'm out. And being outside and getting some exercise is good for me, even with the annoyances. Sighs.

No rest for the weary.

Because it's impossible to sleep when it's so stinkin' hot! And the house didn't cool down adequately last night... it's still 74° upstairs, when I get up. ugh.

I walk a neighborhood zig zag before going to the Garden and find some lovely flowers!

Back at the creek in Dragonfly Land... I was focused on this Common Whitetail.

But then I realized there was a damselfly on the stick as well! Yes! This is the photo that I was trying to capture the other day with a dragonfly and a damselfly, with their size difference!

The damselfly is a female, but her species has me stumped! I don't know who she is!

A Blue Dasher sits for me as well.

And it's the Mackerel Sky heron again... itchy foot!

Ha, her cute nails!

Okay, off to the garden! The beautiful ProCut Red demands attention.

And the teeny tiny Buckwheat blooms are pretty in their own way!

The Tomatillos that I bought have loads of blooms...

And are starting on some fruits as well!

Tho it'll be a good long while before the Tomatillos are done... The fruit is inside that husk, and right now is probably about the size of a pea. It will continue to grow until it bursts the husk open.

The Lemon Cucumber plants are still alive.

The Lemon Cuc that died yesterday was on the other side of the trellis. I'm just hoping this side continues to live... what would I do if I don't get any Lemon Cucumbers to eat???!

And the Buttercup is still alive as well. Actually, it looks surprisingly good.

The big leaves of the dry bean plant are all sunburned to death. And the smaller core leaves are getting some bug damage. But I think it will probably live!

And look how pretty the Aubergine is!

Today's harvest.

Before I go, I stop to admire the Borage blooms and the Bees and other pollinators buzzing around!

∞ How can a photo be abstract? In new exhibit, four photographers weigh in (foo, this is behind a paywall, now.)

I love this!!!

Only occasionally do I get photos that end up Abstract, and I explain and try to give context when I do show these super artsy pics... much like the article explains the one photo: paper bags in a box.

I have high respect for photographers who go out of their way to focus on this kind of art...

And it sounds like this collection began with one of the friends challenging her buddies to a Picture of the Day thing, which... how fun, right?!

(I mean, I've got a zillion pictures of the day *laughs* But focusing on something... else... for capital A art? That would be fun!)

Meantime, reading this article... hmmm...

Photax is not the real name of the Eugene photographer, but instead a pseudonym he's adopted to separate his personal and professional life with his artistic output. He is one of four photographers in an exhibit at the Maude Kerns Art Center, fittingly titled Four Photographers in Search of Abstraction, and one of two presenting his work under a false name.

Um.

Not a Real Name?
Under a False Name?

Seriously?

I would put forth that a Chosen Name is much more real and _true_ than a Given Name!

Of course, that's mostly because I like my Chosen Name!

I like my Given Name as well, but exactly like Photax, I'm using rift vegan to separate parts of my life!

And there's nothing False about that!

The high today is 89°, nine degrees 'cooler' than yesterday. I can feel the difference on my walk out to the garden for sure, and I decide to get some work done.

This last patch of grass under the big trellis has really been bugging me!

There! Isn't that better!

The Wax Beans on both sides are really a happy surprise to me... I seriously thought I would have to re-sow them for a third round after the slugs decimated them. But the weather dried out, the slugs retreated, and the second round came back to life!

On the left is the precious Basil and a big Dandelion. And then at the back of the trellis is the Buttercup, surprisingly still alive.

Just right of center, at the back, you can just barely see the Tomatillo I transplanted from the pathway.

On the right in front, I decided to keep the Borage plants right next to the dry bean.

And then far right I think that green thing is a Love in the Mist... but I've never had one so bushy! The last time I came thru with fertilizer, I gave some to it, and it must have loved that!

There's another Love in the Mist over here. And I decided to weed around this volunteer tomato plant!

I've mentioned before that these volunteers don't make good fruits. But this one looks so healthy, I just started watering it. ha *shrugs*

And there are some first blooms on the Crooknecks I planted as seeds! WooHoo! I can grow things!

*laughs* I'm excited because I've never been able to grow squashes from seed. The only things that are successful from seeds are the Sugar Snap Peas and the Wax Beans.

Normally the slugs eat up the seedling squashes (well, they eat up all seedlings!), so I am happy to have a couple plants survive that! There's two plants in the pic above, and there's a third from seed next to the big Crookneck that got transplanted as a veggie start.

It is definitely a Crookneck year! Most of the other summer squashes died miserable deaths. The only other ones that lived are a Green Zuc and a Patty Pan.

Before I go, I stop to admire the flowers at the back of the diagonal plot neighbor.

And both my ProCut Sunflowers!

I've got a few minutes, so I wander to the back of the Community Garden. Someone has added some Tiger Lilies to our Bird Bath Art Installation!

As soon as I turned the corner, at the creek, I saw Greenie? And she had something wiggling in her beak! Caught a minnow! She swallowed it down before I could get the camera ready.

It is Greenie. I'm pretty sure.

And then!

*laughs!* It's always a weird surprise when they do that!!

Further up the creek, some ducklings.

And then in Dragonfly Land, lots of Blue Dashers!

Huh. This dragonfly looks like the same one I photoed a few days ago... Jul14

Never thought I'd get the chance to make friends with a bug! He buzzes and lands the other way.

Whoa!! Look at his face!!!

Ha! Cute!

Another Mama with even smaller babies, not interested in photography.

At the garden and oh sheesh... the new Bonbon Buttercup has a bloom on it!

I probably should have pulled the flower off... The plant isn't really big enough to support any fruit, it's just freaking out because it's suddenly not in a tiny pot! ha!

But the real reason I'm here today... the first Lemon Cucumber harvest!!

and whoops! There were more Cucs under the leaves than I thought... and a bit further along, too.

And I saw the Basil was starting to bloom, too. So I cut all those off, to add to my meals! Yum!

The Lemon Cucs got put in the fridge, and I started eating them as soon as they got cold. That darkest one, at the top wasn't great, the skin had gotten tough. But the other ones were WONDERFUL!

Pure Bliss!

Yes! Lemon Cucumbers are the REASON for the garden...
The photography here? Yeah, yeah, whatever.
But getting to grow and eat Lemon Cucumbers? Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!!

*laughs*

The ProCut Plum is looking lovely. Tho you can see how short it is...

That's the big trellis, on the right... It's 4feet high, and the sunflower is just a couple inches over that!

That super tall stick in the background on the right, is the remains of a volunteer sunflower from last year. I think it was 9 or so feet tall!

It's kind of disappointing that I don't have any volunteer sunflowers this year. I put down a lot of leaves, last winter, and I think that discouraged most everything from growing.

Oh well. The two sunflowers I bought are pretty.

This is IMPORTANT! Watch it!

∞ PoliticsGirl How can you tell if someone is disabled?

Good Morning Dearie! Aw, your poor mangy tail.

And Good Morning Fledgling, way up there! The whole wide world is very exciting? Yes!

And Good Morning Blue Dasher!

I start walking back, and a Barn Swallow flies towards where the nest is under the bridge, and doesn't fly out... Hmm?

I get the camera out and look at the zoom... Oh my gosh!

They get settled...

And oh my gosh, I am so frustrated at the spider webs!

*laughs* So! A second brood for these Barn Swallow parents! That's exciting!

At the garden, I'm doing some weeding.

The front of the garden plot really needs to be tidied up... We'll have Compliance Checks at the end of the month, and it would be nice if the front looked good.

Instead, I started weeding at the back. The Strawberries needed some help. And then I went around the volunteer Squashes.

And then I found a new Volunteer Squash right under the Brandywine!

Ha! It probably won't have time enough to do anything before the season ends. But it's still nice to see it! It's so cute and healthy looking... That hasn't happened very much for the Squashes this year!

And, crouched as I am under the Brandywine, here's what I see when I look up!

It's definitely the healthiest of the tomato plants, and it has loads and loads of flowers!

The Aubergine looks pretty good as well.

I'm pleased at how the small Strawberry is expanding it's territory with all it's runners!

And it's pet Nasturtium is getting along just fine!

And, actually, I'm really happy with everything back here in this corner! I wish I didn't have to weed down to dead dirt, but that's what the Community Garden director wants.

And Look!

That Sungold falls off when I wiggle it and I ate it!

My first Sungold of the year!!

It wasn't quite ripe, tho! *laughs* It didn't have the signature Sungold sweetness. Ha. Oh well. I just have to be patient.

On the other side of the plot, a couple of the Buckwheats at the front edge of the Fallow Area have gotten delightfully huge. Many branches, many flowers.

Oh. And the weeding? Yeah, I didn't bother working on the front. It's still a mess!

And on the walk home...

I ate a couple of the Himalayan blackberries... and they aren't quite ripe, either, so I need to be patient with them as well!

Cloudy this morning and so cool in the house that I wrap myself in a blanket as I'm doing my computer work!

I need a break from the garden, so I'm walking in the neighborhood to the south. There won't be any wildlife on the way... but it's good to look at different things!

The clouds are moving around a little and try to break up.

This is the street where they are doing seismic upgrades to the bridge over the creek.

The traffic from this road is being detoured over to the street I live on, and it is terrible.

People are in a rush, the speed limit is much slower on my street, being a narrow neighborhood street. And they are just not paying attention. So many drivers aren't bothering to stop for pedestrians crossing at the bike path.

I have had several near misses, already... One car stopped for me to get across at the crosswalk, but then I had to wait in the tiny island because the car coming the other way refused to stop.

Three feet from my face, an suv rushing by? Yeah, that does not make me feel safe in my own damn neighborhood. What's the rush, you damn drivers??? Just stop for us stupid pedestrians!!

Okay. Rant done! Let's look at pretty things!

Hello my sweet Pollinator friends!

At the top of the hill, you can see the Coastal Range to the west. Ha, too bad the view is terrible!

Oh, this is new! I like it! It's right next to the street, but there's not a ton of traffic here.

I'm wrapped up in my Tardis blanket, in front of the computer again this morning! The forecast says 80° today... but that's what it said for yesterday and it only got to 77°!!

And sure enough, the clouds of the morning stick around most all day and the high tops out at 76°.

I'll be sure to enjoy it... there's a few days of hot weather back again starting tomorrow.

oh crum!

*laughs* well, that spider web is very inconveniently placed! I try to get the camera focused beyond, but sheesh.

At the garden, the new Volunteer Squash under the Brandywine already has a true leaf coming along!

And the Brandywine is growing more tomatoes.

And the poor beleaguered Old German has a single fruit as well!

I don't know why it's beleaguered... It doesn't have many leaves, and the leaves it does have are small. And it's just 2 feet away from the big, lovely Brandywine so the comparison makes the Old German look even more pathetic!

But not quite as pathetic as the Half Dead Sungold! It did recover from that 33° night, but it's still short. Growing out, rather than up.

But it has loads of fruits!

The big trellis, that I'm so proud of!

Oh my gosh! The Wax Beans are starting to vine!!

A family of House Finches bounces around excitedly in Kevin's plot. They don't stay long enough for me to count the kids.

Also in Kevin's plot... these are the Nasturtiums I hope I got seeds of! That kind of stripy, orange is lovely!

Back to my plot!

I had missed one of the very ripe Lemon Cucumbers, when I got that first big load the other day. So I grab it, and a sprig of Basil.

The Sugar Snap Peas are decidedly slowing down and the couple transplants are dying back already. Oh, I'm bummed. The harvests didn't last long at all.

Maybe when the rest of the peas quit, I will clear that spot and replant for a fall harvest?

Well. The Tomatillos are starting to gear up!

It really is a beautiful plant.

And Always prolific! I can't wait!!

And I'm out, heading home.

Plums? or Cherries?

Quick check... Plum trees have toothed leaves, so this is probably a cherry tree. Apparently I've been mixing up the two forever! ha.

∞ Differences Between Cherry And Plum Tree

∞ Plum trees versus cherry trees: how to tell the difference and identify them

It's good to learn things!!!

Mmmm! Himalayan Blackberries! I eat a handful today!

Bleh. I have not been sleeping well.

At first, I couldn't sleep just because of the heat. The heat wave of mid-July lasted eight days, with two days of upper 90s. The last couple of days and nights have been blissful, but still no sleep. I toss and turn.

And now we are gearing up for another couple days in the 90s.

I'm so sleep deprived, I can't even think about it. I hope some exercise and sunshine will help!

I walk past the Barn Swallow bridge and past Dragonfly Land. The next bridge is a walking bridge, and I just watch the dragonflies for a while.

After a bit, I head back to the garden. Maybe some weeding will do me good.

But I just futz around and don't do anything meaningful.

The Volunteer Squash patch is over run by Borages, and one of the squashes has gotten choked off. I push the Borages away a little, but don't feel like pulling them out... there's so many bees flying around and they make me happy!

The Green Zebra tomatoes sure look pretty!

And the two ProCut sunflowers.

I'm glad I got them both, especially since I've had zero volunteer sunflowers this year. I don't think that's ever happened before!

In the afternoon, I crash and take a nap...

I lie down, thinking that I would sleep for hours and hours and it would probably be dark when I wake up.

But, ha! I sleep for 45mins and I feel refreshed and have a productive evening.

Funny how just the littlest bit of self care makes such a big difference!

Too Cute!

The Spider webs in front of the Barn Swallow nest have been broken up a little, so I can see the parent sitting. But I don't stay but for a minute.

I am doing some weeding today, gonna take out this little patch of grass (those are the Leeks that have fallen over)... and the tiny tree! ha.

I have removed so many little trees this year! Springing up all over the place from the leaves I hauled last winter.

It does make me sad, having to murder a tree, even a tiny one. But I can't have a tree in the garden plot! I wonder if I could try putting them in a pot, instead?

A hawk is yelling and I realize they are sitting in the tree right outside the Community Garden...

Red Shoulder Hawk, and she has an eye patch! Bahaha!!

What a goof!

Back to my plot. The Wax Beans are vining!

And on the other side of the big trellis, the Tomatillo I moved out of the pathway is growing and doing just fine!

The Patty Pan has some fruits coming on.

And so does the Green Zuc.

The Lemon Cucumber plants that have lived are growing well.

It's a little bit sad to think of all the Lemon Cucs I bought, that were murdered by the bugs this spring.

Yet again, this will not be the year that I grow more Lemon Cucumbers than I can eat.

On the other side of the small trellis, the Nasturtium seedlings are happy.

On the way home, I'm eating a good handful of Himalayan Blackberries!

I see one of the baby raccoons again... but there's something very wrong with her eye. Poor baby.

Either an injury has gotten infected, or maybe it's cancer. Probably won't last very long and probably painful. ugh.

A kid in the grass! Juvenile Scrub Jay.

Stretch! ha, her little arms!

And Yawn! *laughs*

And back to sleep!

Walk about at the Community Garden!

I'm surprised at how messy the Pollinator Garden is this year... I like it but I imagine it makes the stupid Garden Director cringe. haha!

Red and Orange used to be my least favorite colours... but now I think Orange definitely has it's place!! :)

I've come around to my garden plot. Some fruits on the Half Dead Sungold, with the small Strawberry plant stretching its runners underneath!

And here's the Fallow Area Sungold. See? Orange is a lovely colour!

A Green Zuc I'll pick in a day or two.

The Main Crookneck.

*laughs* Yeah I just ate that Sungold! I also ate this...

Oh my gosh, it was perfect! mmmm!

There's some more strawberries coming on and that Seascape one is Huge! It's still white underneath, yet. I hope the slugs don't get it.

And the cute little volunteer squash under the Brandywine!

Oh! Hello!

Wow, look how pretty her face is with that dark blue sheen! She's tiny, too. I bet she's a parasitic wasp of some kind!

Looking up at the Brandywine...

That Bumblebee on the right comes around! :)

Thank you for your pollinating services!!

This is that little Mystery Plant. I've still not looked it up... I was hoping it would just make a flower and be obvious about what it was. But so far, it's just the leaves!

Massive back pain today!

Ha! Let me tell you what I've been working on for the daily Tiny Cleans in the porch room...

This electric Underwood Typewriter is my inheritance from my Grandma. I learned how to type on Grandma's typewriters! That's why the keys are covered with tape, so we couldn't look down at the letters! ha!

And that orange thing is a moving company sticker... apparently they didn't even bother to put it in a box! Amazing it still works.

Or, I assume it works. I didn't plug it in because it really needs to be cleaned, and oiled I suppose. And I don't have a ribbon for it. I would pay someone else to do this work for me... It would be way fun to type on it again! But that is for another time.

Anyway. I don't know how heavy the thing actually is, but I was trying to get it and the other typewriter back under the shelf yesterday. I didn't notice any back pain while I was working but I had spasms last night and was pretty sure I was going to die! *laughs*

So! That all said, I am not even going to bother with the garden. We are just coming off the latest little heat wave: it was 92° on Wed and 89° yesterday. I watered pretty well yesterday, and the high today is a very pleasant 85° so the veggies should be fine!

I'm going for a walk!

As I approached the Events Center, Oh yeah, the Fair is happening this weekend!

Since the main parking lot is used for the rides, they use the back fields for parking instead. And to jam as many cars as they can into that space, horseback riders direct the cars into tidy rows!

That's always fun to watch!

I go thru the Solidarity Garden. Veggies and fruits are growing, and the flowers look lovely as well!

I sat at Wayside Micro Park to drink water.

It's a shame the bench is no longer in the shade. The ice storm that killed the Leaning Tree also brought down the beautiful Mimosa Trees here.

They've replanted with two other species of trees -- but like the new Leaning Trees, they are just saplings. It'll be a good decade or more before they provide any shade.

And on this side, ha, the Mimosa is coming back to life!

On the way back, there's an alley that I specifically wanted to go down to see this amazing double petal Hibiscus!

There's a regular Hibiscus bush here as well.

One more look at the horses as I pass the Events Center again.

And then I'm back at the creek! It's Mackerel Sky!

A parent still sits at the nest. I wonder when we will have babies!

Greenie!!

So awesome to see her/him again!

There's spider webs in front of the Barn Swallow nest again.

But with some fiddling, I do get the camera focused beyond.

In the Community Garden, walking back to my plot, I stop to take a pic of these so I can ID them...

Nemesia. They are tiny and native to southern Africa, so probably not doing a single thing for our pollinators.

In my plot, I'm throwing down some fertilizer and watering.

Here's the healthy Lemon Cucumber plant, from the other side of the small trellis!

The Tomatillos I bought are at the other end of the small trellis. They are making fruits, in the excitable manner that is normal! *laughs* Tomatillos are prolific!

The Tomatillos are very crowded by Borage, that's the blue flowers and the fur. I should probably pull some of the Borage out, to give space. But, meh. The Tomatillos don't seem to mind the Borage, which brings bees and pollinators of all sorts!

This is the front left of the plot, the neighbor's corn in the top left and some of my Buckwheats in the top right.

The squash at the top, right of center is the Main Crookneck that I bought as a veggie start. It used to be the biggest squash in the plot!

But now, the Crookneck on the left has gotten bigger!! I planted that one as a seed, so that's very exciting.

And plus... look how different the leaves are. The transplant has much deeper lobes. Makes me wonder if the seed planted Crookneck is actually a Crookneck!! Ha!

Well, whatever it is, I am thrilled with how well it is doing! It's the first time that I've grown summer squashes from seed!

But today I'm picking from the Green Zuc...

*laughs* at those two Sungolds! Well, the plants have to start somewhere!

Green Zebra, the experimental tomato flavor of the year.

I wonder when I'm supposed to harvest them!

The Mystery Plant under the big trellis.

And look how pretty the Basil is! It's the first time I've had good success with Basil.

Well, I'm out. Outside the Community Garden fence, there's some Chicory blooming.

Taking a break from the garden! It's a nice day today at 84° (29°C) but next week looks like upper 80s and a couple days in the 90s. Bleh. So I'm enjoying today!

And it really is a lovely summer day!

I go by the bridge thats getting seismic upgrades. This road closed in mid-June and they won't finish until Aug20.

The extra traffic on the street I live on is a major pain, I'll be glad when this is done!

I love all the different colours of the prairie!

I get around to the trail at the park... aw, dangit!

*laughs* That was a Kestrel standing on that Frisbee Golf goal. She flew away immediately.

But she flew in the direction I was walking and I saw her land in a tree. I walked closer, but the tree was too far from the trail, and I figured she would fly again if I got too close.

She's a female... The males have blue wings.

I walk around, but she's busy!

And it's not a better view anyway. Humph!

I remind myself that if I were to walk out here more often... I would get more chances to see these beautiful little raptors!! *smiles*

∞ We do not comply: How do we disrupt the momentum of Trump's cruelty? by V

Non-compliance is art, as art is meant to defy the status quo, question the givens, expand the boundaries of knowing and freedom. And as you courageously make your mark of refusal, you carve a path for others to be brave. Non-compliance is praxis, stretching and transforming the muscles of our discontent into impactful and embodied action.

Over the weekend I was taking a break from my pushups, because I had over extended my back moving old typewriters around. But today I wanted to get back to it.

And, nope. I did my pushups and then this afternoon I was back to eating pain pills in order to live! *laughs*

This morning I'm heading to the garden to water the veggies. But first, Dragonfly Land!

Blue Dashers. Their eyes are just the prettiest colours!

There's only ever males here. I don't think I've ever seen a female. I looked them up, they are brown and yellow, very different.

As I walk toward the bridge with the nest, a Barn Swallow flies in and out quickly. But when I get there, the parent is settled. Was the other parent just checking in? Or did they bring a snack? hm.

At the garden, the main Crookneck is making more fruits.

And the front Crookneck, which I started from seed, is making it's first fruit!! Yay!

The Volunteer Tomato plant is looking pretty good. I don't know why I bothered with this... the cherry tomatoes from this plant won't be any good, and I'll have tons of Sungolds, once they rev up.

I'm noticing that not all of the flowers on the Brandywine are getting fertilized...

That concerns me a little. Because my plot is filled with Zillions of bees and other pollinators! But maybe it's the plant deciding it can't handle all the fruit? It does have a good number of tomatoes coming on!

The vining Wax Beans make me happy!

Oh hey! The ProCut Red Sunflower is making a second bloom!! Woo!

I harvested the second Patty Pan today. And I've lost track of how many Lemon Cucumbers I've gotten off the heathy plant... the other two Lemon Cuc plants aren't ready to make fruits.

Heading out.

But this catches my eye in a neighboring plot...

That colour! I wonder what variety that is!

And I see not all of those flowers have been fertilized, as well.

In the evenings I've been watching the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. This is a mini-series of six episodes.

As is my way, I've watched it over and over. I think I've seen it three times, now, all the way thru. Which is enough to have a favorite episode...

Episode number four! Darcy is walking away right after he makes the terrible proposal and the words they both said are echoing. And then the letter he writes!

But then in Episode number five, Miss Bennet visits Pemberly with her aunt and uncle... and Mr Darcy is suddenly all nice, and gentlemanly. That's a good one as well!

But then again... episode three was the set up for all of this. That disastrous proposal! That's fun to watch as well!

*laughs* I would like to re-read P&P again at some point. I know that the 1995 version is closer to following the story than the 2005 movie. But of course, the 1995 version is hours longer, so there's more time to be true. But I do enjoy the movie as well.

:)

I'm looking both ways to cross the street I live on... and up the hill...

Ha! A Black Tail stag is walking up the sidewalk!

I am glad to see the traffic slows way down when he gets too close to the road. But the stag just continues on his merry!

He'll have to be careful crossing the other road to the south where his forest is, but I'm sure he'll be fine!

And I head down the hill to the bike path.

A parent sits on the nest.

OH! A changing of the guard!

We make sure the eggs are all okay...

And then they get settled.

oh, haha. There's a Mama Mallard in Dragonfly Land!

She plops down into the water.

I can hear her children. They aren't peeping, but just quietly talking to themselves. It's super cute, but the sound is bouncing here, and I can't figure out where they are!

I walk upstream a little. And find a Woodland Skipper!

I come back. Ah, there you are!

*laughs* It's a hot day, my children... you can probably find better shade! That little Yellow Twig sapling isn't doing much!

Yes, you are both absolutely adorable!

Okay. Off to the garden!

oh hey, I guess I WILL be able to tell when the Green Zebras are ripening! This one is starting to get yellow!

Here's the Buttercup, the freebie veggie start, and the only winter squash left to me. I just pulled off most of it's dead leaves... transplant shock and too hot weather.

It's a cute little thing, but it won't make any squashes, I'm thinking. That's okay.

At the other end of the trellis is that Tomatillo I moved from the path.

Hmm, I wonder what this plant is! It's got pretty leaves!

I really am happy with this whole corner!

But the Crooknecks on the other side of the plot are good as well!

I've only got three Lemon Cucumber plants that survived... Two transplants and one that came up from seed. But they are all healthy and happy!

And next year will be better. Definitely can't be worse than this year! ha!

As I walk out of the Community Garden, I see a new sign on the other gate...

Oh crap. Compliance Checks were yesterday. I've still not tidied up the front of the plot. Shoot. Probably going to find me non-compliant.

What else is new!

White Crown Sparrow?! Ha!

The first of the migrations! White Crowns are winter visitors here, but this group might just be passing thru on their way further south.

Happy Journeys, my dears!

Okay! Straight to the garden, I don't stop at the Barn Swallow bridge today. It's to be 89° today, but some morning clouds have kept it cool enough that I'm going to tackle some weeding in the front!!

We've not gotten the email telling us we are not in compliance yet. Which is weird.

But I'm going to do something here...

The section that is not Borage is actually the Beet Patch... not that you can see any! *laughs*

There's some damn Bermuda Grass in the corner, and then I pulled out Amaranth, Crab Grass, a bit of Quack Grass and the little weedy vines that I don't know the name of. There's some Speedwells here as well, which I like to keep because it is pretty, both the leaves and the tiny flowers.

The clouds were breaking up and I was pouring sweat down! I paused work to get water a couple times.

I filled the bucket up with weeds...

And the Beets are free to grow again!

Altho, they don't need to grow much... there are a couple that are huge!

And, of course, I left some of the taller wild Amaranths, and the pretty red one... The birds will enjoy the seeds!

The dirt was insanely dry! So I watered like crazy!

The Green Zebra ripening it's first tomato.

The Nasturtiums in the front are doing well...

They live in between the Crooknecks, and the grid is there to make sure I don't step on them as I walk between the bigger veggies.

And that cute little unknown weed.

The first fruits, under the leaves of the Lemon Cucumber Siblings...

And this will be the third Patty Pan.

It's sad that I'm able to count how many summer squash I've gotten... I looked up some of the harvests from last year. ha, so different!

Mid-July of last year, I had so many Zucs and summer squashes I couldn't eat them all!

And here it is, all but August, and I'm getting squashes one by one. sighs.

Sighs.

That Strawberry? Soooo GOOOD!

I'm happy with the work I did today!

Henrietta! Long time, no see!!

And then, just a little bit up stream...

It's Mackerel Sky!

That's good to see my friends! Especially Henrietta! I wonder where he's been hunting this year. Further downstream? All the way down to the reservoir?

I go visit the Barn Swallow nest. Oh good... The spider webs have been cleared again!

That round white thing is a feather sticking up from the lining of the nest.

Aw! You looking at a baby? Or an egg? ...
A hatching egg??!

I meet up with the Minnows as well.

One more glance at the Barn Swallow parent.

And then I'm off to the Garden.

The Aubergine.

The Half Dead Sungold.

The Old German.

The Brandywine...

Yeah, the tomato cage holding the Brandywine has started to lean dramatically! It's a big plant!

Fortunately, it's leaning on the Old German... and that tomato cage seems to be holding.

The Brandywine also had a drooping branch. The branch only had one tomato growing on it, but that was heavy enough to bend the branch down to the ground! So I propped it up with a small tomato cage.

This back corner makes me happy.

Top left = The Sunchoke on the left side border.
Bottom left = The Volunteer Squashes.
Right of Center = Brandywine.
Top right = Kevin's raised beds.
Bottom right = Old German.

Oh, and I guess you can see a bit of the Green Zebra, as well... it's in front of my aqua backpack, top center.

Bumblebee on the Borage.

Mmmm! Lemon Cucumber!

ProCut Red, part two! Haha!

Heading out... but I stop to admire the right side neighbor's plot. This is the Pot People, they haven't done much at all this year, but they must have watered a couple times...