Two for one.........

I have only two photos today for this one blog.  I am glad the weekend is finally here. It has been a tough week.  I don't know of a summer that has been more exhausting than this one and the added part of fighting the heat while working does not help.

I am glad we had a few small showers Friday morning.  While at a doctor's appointment in the afternoon in Des Moines there was a downpour.  We didn't get much up at our house but I am glad it still knows how to rain.

I have yard work to do but my body says differently.  I will try to get some weeds down and a little mowing done before the heat hits again.  I have to get the apple tree branch removed that snapped but didn't completely fall.  I am going to get it looking as good as possible since it hasn't had my attention for a month.

Thanks for stopping by today.

There is hope........

As you can see that I may have a couple of tomatoes.  They are not blooming much but maybe in a week or so more I will have more blooms.  I am keeping them watered to keep them all alive in our steamy heat. 

My boss was out last night looking for his dog and he was driving down my alley.  He said he couldn't see my house because there were so many trees.  He is right as my trees are taking over my whole side yard.  

This is my river birch tree and it is becoming huge.  I like it's shape and the bark sheds off of it all of the time.

I took pictures of the river birch because I need to enter a photo of a tree for a contest.  I did find a great photo from all of the ones that I had taken of the tree.

It was hot in our building yesterday and it did get to be almost unbearable. We get off work at two o'clock and it was great to be able to go home to air conditioning.  We did a lot of diverse projects yesterday and it seems that our crew is very qualified at doing plumbing, electrical work, and floor refinishing. We have done a lot of it and will continue to do more of it. We need to replace a counter in one room and we resurrected an over waxed floor bringing it back to it's original color of tan.

I was home sick on Wednesday with a food allergy problem and Thursday was still a difficult day for me.  I feel better but am not back to one hundred percent.  This Friday should be a better day.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.  

Summer Flower Power.........

It is hard to believe that these flowers are still growing.  The weather was hot today with very high heat index temperatures of 111 degrees F.

I had some health problems on Wednesday so I didn't go in for work, but will be back to work today.  The boss said the old wing of the building took on a lot of heat yesterday so today it should get to be to warm to work down there today.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Wednesday's Wave of Heat........

We are melting away.. just like the wicked witch in Oz.   We are promised 100 degrees today with the wind from the south.  I watered all the pots of plants on the porches and put some more moisture on the squash plants and tomatoes. 

The bugs and the drought won as the few remaining raspberries were filled with black bugs and the the heat caused most of the berry clusters to shrivel up and die.  I noticed today that the same daylily that I photographed two days has shriveled up from the heat and dryness.  I still haven't planted the flowers that we bought for our one planter.  I plan to bring them in to keep in the house so they won't be dead before I plant them.

What is unbelievable is that the corn is now tall and tasseling in the farm fields near us.  It was planted early and has matured early.  We don't have forest fires here not the floods as in Florida so we really are in great shape compare to that.

When work gets out at two I will be glad that we go in early in the morning.  I am tired of working in bathrooms and shower rooms. A couple of the bathrooms seem to be ready to be restored with the facilities and partitions. New lighting and plumbing for the sinks will be included. 

The fancy lily with frilly edges is blooming.  A close up shows that it is bruised from the heat and wind.  It is a beautiful lily and I hope that the buds slow down with their blooming so a rain could help them.

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Bee Balmy Day........

Monarda is doing well but the breeze keep me from catching a set of still blooms.  I like how all the horizontal leaves seem to be all aligned the same.

I purchased an herb, unknown, which has taken over a large  part of my garden in the orchard area.  It is a great smelling herb and I want to think it is rosemary or oregano.  What do I know about herbs?  Nothing.........


I am keeping up my blogging but my reading of other blogs just isn't happening.  I will try to catch up sometime soon.  Sorry to be so busy and not be able to keep up.

Thanks for stopping by.   I have spent the entire two days working with a square srubber polishing terrazzo floors in bathrooms.

Monday's Tidbit.............

I lost my one real wild bunny early in the spring and really have not seen another one moving in to the side yard. This one was a gift to me from my wife a few years back.  He doesn't eat much but I do have tulips blooming all summer long.

It is a busy life so I will continue doing one picture a day until things quiet down.  My wife had a first cousin stop in for a visit.  He was from California and another first cousin from Minburn, Iowa stopped by also.  We had a good visit.  The dogs always enjoy visits from outside of their world.

I am sorry that I am not commenting as much as I should.  I am trying to catch up but my new work schedule strains my life and exhausts me.  

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Sunday's Post.......

My plants in pots are really slow this year.  I do have these petunias doing well but the rest seem stunted and slow to grow.  I will fertilize the next time I water to see if I can bring them back.

We had a great time at the wedding last night and are having company in the afternoon after church and Sunday school.  Have a good day and thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Checking in on Saturday...........

I really love the colors of this common lily.  They can be seen all over Iowa along ditches where homesteads use to be as well as in many yards yet today.  Invasive is a mild word for this plant but the blooms are still wonderful.

Last night we met up with one of my wife's internet friends who is here with her husband to do the Artfest of Iowa.  We ate at the Flying Mango and it was a lot of fun.  Good food, good friends that we see once a year at the show and a fun place to eat.

Today we will go down to see the two art shows in Des Moines.  The one show is outside in the downtown area and the other is in a wonderful building at the State Fair grounds.  In the afternoon one of my teacher friends has a daughter getting married.  That will be fun to attend.  I watched Catilin grow up from a little girl and her husband to be was also one of my former students.

I will pick raspberries before the rain that is coming this  morning and I will not finish mowing the lawn as we still have a drought like condition and the grass is growing slow.  The rain will wash out the downtown show temporarily but it should be up and running this afternoon.

Have a great weekend.  Thanks for stopping in to my post.

One more shot of this one.........

I didn't get out to get new photos taken.  I mowed a part of my yard Thursday as we did have some rain.  Not a large amount but if it keeps raining a little every few days, we will survive. We have a busy weekend ahead and will share that as the different things take place.

I am glad that it is finally Friday.  Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Thursday's Thing......

When I was a kid my parents called this Rose Moss.  I have since change the name around and call it Moss Rose.   We still don't have it planted outside as the heat has been to high for us to do so.

I should have used this on my Photo a Day blog but I am running out of shots to post.  I need to pick raspberries and mow the lawn so I may not get pictures taken for Friday. 

Thanks for stopping by my single posting today...............

Wednesday's Wandering..........

The fish don't seem to be too bothered with our heat.  The koi has a minor defect in his tail but seems to swim well enough.

While out at my fish pond the Blue Jays were out trying to teach this young one to fly.  He wasn't doing very well as he tried to land on the horizontal board instead of the top of the fence.  You can see that he is struggling to catch his balance.

The planter that held my geraniums had been blown off of it's shelf on the fence and everything was a mess.  I had these begonias planted in there with them and they seemed to have survive the fall.  I did have a lot of broken off begonia stems that are sitting in a jelly glass jar full of water.

It was a very hot day at work today.  I couldn't drink enough water to get through the day.  I spend a lot of time working on floors with floor cleaning machines. The room we were working in kept warming up as the day went on as the room was banked with windows on the west and the heat index was 112 degrees F.

We are glad we have Barney on duty at all times.  We had a young man from the Academy that is north of town, entered the neighbor's unlocked house while they slept and lifted the car keys and credit cards.  He drove away with the company car.  If we had been awake we could have seen him leave out our bedroom window.

It was in the middle of the night and it is too common for these court ordered boys at the Academy to escape their quarters.  I normally lock the doors at night but the back door in which I let the dogs out doesn't always stay locked.  I guess it will be from now on since this happening.

 Barney barks at anybody outside passing our house night or day.  I did hear something from him that night  but he barks at late night dog walkers and runners every time that he can do so. I don't really ever think about it, but I guess I need to rethink that. My wife remembers the unusual time of the barking also as it seemed too early in the morning for anybody to be out there.  I do remember the police vehicle on our side of the street parked there when I went to work at six in the morning.

Thanks for stopping by my posting today.

Take a little time to unwind.......

I received as a gift a new coffee mug with Charlie Brown and Snoopy.   Take a little time to unwind is written inside he rim of the mug.

As you can see the string to the kite is wound around the mug numerous times and Snoopy is looking at the hanging tangled kite.  It is a perfect mug for  me.

I really like begonias and my wife picked some out to go into our front flower box area.  It is still too hot to put them into the ground so they are indoors for the next two days.  We were 90 degrees F. Monday and are predicted to be hotter today. Our morning low will be 75 degrees F. and it will start from there to warm up to 90 or above by evening.

Work continues to be work.  We used sealer stripper today on a shower room floor.  It is a bad thing.
We will take a day off to get over the fumes and return on Wednesday to finish the one shower room floor.  Three to go before school starts. We will be doing wax stripper on a classroom and that is not toxic.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Summer Shots.........

Casual informal shots of what it looked like in my backyard Sunday morning.  We had a light rain and the grass is greener and the plants are standing taller.

I zoomed in on the sound of the neighbor girls riding their bikes in the early morning. They moved so fast I didn't have time to switch my setting for moving objects.  The older sister and her twin sisters spend their days on the bikes or in their pool. You can hear them most of the day when in our backyard.

A welcomed sight when you want to get outside and feel the fresh air is the look of the table and chairs with an umbrella.  The birds sing and the day is good.

I have a large area of monarda, bee balm, that is just about to bloom.  The beginning stage of the bloom is interesting and great to see also.

Thanks for stopping by today.  It is suppose to be unbearably hot today and I am glad I get off work at two o'clock today.

Sunday blooms and a promise to come.........

This rose is out by my pear tree garden area.  I have had it for a long time and it is responding to the rains we have been receiving.

One of my fancy Asiatic lilies is about to open.  It is frilly and peach in color.

This lily was bought at a flower and garden show many years ago.  It has  continued to multiply and be such a hearty lily.

Have a great Sunday.

Rainwater works......

We are receiving rain.  It is needed for the crops in the fields and the gardens and flowers.  It is so welcomed and a relief to be receiving it.

It is an experiment that I am trying in my backyard.  My plastic swan is sporting the poinstitia plant that has survive inside all winter.  I know they grow in the wild in California but we are a lot hotter here.  I am going to keep it in the shade.  I know it will just sprout green leaves but I want to see if I can get it to survive out there the rest of the summer.

It is good that Saturday is here.  I think we will have more rain this afternoon. Thanks for stopping by my post.

Two Bunches of Blooms.............

My grandmother Mabel Brooks had this regale lily at her house in Murray, Iowa.  She shared it with my mom and I now have the plant.  It is really weathered from the wind but I have given it some support so one can view the blooms.

Hostas are trying to put out blooms even when the soil is so dry.  We are being told that we may have rains for the next few days and I hope that they are correct about that.

This is actually a bunch of seedlings.  I placed some old seed of butternut squash and then watered them.  It was about a week ago and I was surprised to see them up out of the ground.

Friday is finally here.  It has been a long busy week.  Thanks for stopping by post today.

Zinnia Plant.........

Zinnias are tough in dry weather but they do need some moisture to germinate.  I see that I have two plants up after our very slight sprinkle rain last week.  Our soil is very black but when it is dry it turns gray.

Tired and more tired tonight.  Work is good but it is hard work.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Seeing a lot of white........

The old fashion hydrangeas all over town are all in full bloom.  Most of them are growing along foundations of older homes in town.  It is a great flowering shrub.

Thanks for stopping by................

Almost Missed It......

This regale lily was out on the corner of my property.  I hadn't noticed it growing and it's tall stem broke over making the blooms low on the ground.  I can't straighten it as I don't want it to snap the stem.

The blooms are pretty much beaten from the strong winds and it's laying low in the iris bed.  I guess I won't have any regal photos of the regale lily this year.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Tuesday's Things.......

With the warm weather that we are having the hostas are in a hurry to bloom.  The dry conditions are getting to be a serious problem  especially when the wind blows to encourage more drying of the soil.

To help out the birds in the area I have brought out the antique chicken waterer.  I have never actually seen a bird drink from it but my imagination lets me think that they are.  Evaporation is also going on with this watering system.

The morning glory seeds did sprout leaves.  I soaked the seed for a few hours and then placed them in very wet soil.  The shell of the seed seems to need to be broken down to help it to germinate. The package is full of mixed colors of morning glories so it will be interesting to see what colors will show up at bloom time.  I have two areas of these planted with about five plants at each spot growing.

We received about a tenth of an inch of rain on Sunday evening.  It did help a little but it could have been better.  It was a spotty rain with areas getting full inches of rain north of us and also south of us.

Thanks for stopping by my post today. Tuesday's are always better than Monday's.  It should be another interesting day at work.

Monday Has Arrived..........

On the hot days of summer, it is best to lay down on the sidewalk in the shade. It was so hot Sunday that she stayed in the basement where it is nice and cool. She would like a basket of clothes to sleep in to make it a perfect time.

I walked out to feed the fish and two garter snakes were  having fun swimming in the tank.  They dove down under the water when the saw me.  I am not sure that they can get themselves out of there so I lay a spade on the filter box that leans on the edge of the tank so they can crawl out of the area.

Busy, hot, and I didn't make it outside to get new photos.  Maybe on another day I can get out there.  Thanks for stopping by at my post today.

First Daylilies.........

Stella o Doro was the first daylily to bloom this year.  It's first blooms were deformed which I am thinking were related from our sudden freeze in April.  The rest of the blooms are turning out normally formed. The macro makes this look much larger than it really is in size.  Landscapers use this variety in Iowa in our mall gardens as it seems to put out blooms throughout the summer.

This is the second daylily to show itself in my garden. It's stems are a little flimsy and the blooms then seem to flop down a bit compared to other day lilies. I really like the color of this bloom.  The camera did not capture it's true color as it is deeper brown in color.

This is not a daylily but it is a hollyhock.  The warmer weather has this white hollyhock blooming profusely.  It is a very big plant and is filled with blooms.

I worked outside a lot in the morning yesterday, getting raspberries picked, with my wife's help. We froze six cups of berries.  I mowed the dog's back yard and then my mower died on the spot.  I trimmed trees from some of the last of the flower beds and sprayed some weeds along the alley that need to be destroyed before I cut them.  I found that my morning glories are sprouted and the squash is doing well.  I replanted my zinnias today hoping Sunday evening that it will get watered from the predicted storms.  I found some nectar to add to a hummingbird feeder that I need to get put out.  I don't have a lot of luck with them but maybe this year.  I still have a few weeds to attend to in the orchard area and I will finish those up in the weekday sometime.  

We don't like severe weather but we do like getting rain.  We are suppose to get storms in the night which will bring us some much needed moisture.  I don't have a long enough set of hoses to water my raspberries but they are so dry that there are bunches of them that have just shriveled up and died.

Thanks for stopping by my post today.

Saturday's Stuff

My new squash plant seems to be content being planted in the ground.  I picked up two of these at the grocery store where they had closed down their greenhouse plants department.  They were almost giving them away.

My tomato that I planted in this container seems to grow inches a day.  I water it regularly and it is in the sun most of the day.  It is a happy tomato.  I am a happy tomato grower.  I plan to make a tent trellis for it so that it won't get too out of control as it grows.

 

My first coneflower bloom for the season. It is early to bloom but the hot humid day has made all of the flowers happy.

 I have a lot of work to do outside today.  I hope to get a lot of it done before it gets too warm. I won't mow the lawn as it is too dry.  I will be picking raspberries.  Thanks for stopping by my post today.