Middle of the Week Report.....

 A yellow variety of tomato is starting to produce some tomatoes. They seem small but they do taste good.  I have picked one red tomato but it is getting to be time for them to start to turn red. 

My mammoth sunflower seed was bad as I didn't get one of them to sprout. The smaller variety of them is doing well. It will be good to see some of them bloom soon.

My zinnia patch is starting to bloom. You already know that I take hundreds of shots of them and share a lot of them on my blog.  The color of the flowers against the green is just an outstanding color scheme. 

Larry's folly is almost done.  Parts are getting first coats of sealer and others are getting second coats now too. I put away my saw and I am cleaning up the tools. So I guess I have surrendered to working on it anymore. Once the folly is all sealed, I am going to give the steps a renewed coat of sealer.

We had storms last night off and on all night. We have more on schedule later today. We are not use to getting rain and the thunderstorms seem wonderful since we have not had any for years. The derecho type of storm is not a good one and they think we may have one this evening. I need to bring in anything that will blow away.  It is a typical summer day and it did get really hot this morning while I was working. A breeze made things tolerable but I was glad to come inside for lunch. 

Thanks for checking in today. 

Tuesday's Wet and Windy Day.....

 The mourning dove is mostly peaceful unless some sparrow is eating seed where it wants to be. 

We had strong winds last night and then again this morning. I had a wheel barrow dumped over in the wind and things were blown across the yard. 

At the back patio the wind flattened my cone flowers and one completely broke off at the base. I wired up the remaining stems. I was working after it stopped raining in the morning and then I had to quit because started raining again. 

I will finish with a shot of old blue. It is loving all the rains that we are having it.  I can't imagine how many birds have been fledged in its branches.  The sparrows love it and so do the house finches. Cardinals are suppose to like the tree also but I think a pair did nest in my neighbor's trees down the way. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Monday's Mentions.......

 Low light in the afternoon keeps me from getting a lot of detail in the shot. I have yet to see a male hummingbird but I know there must be some there. I have them fighting over the feeder at times. 

They are good at working that beak getting it into the tiny hole for sugar water. 

The doves seem to love dropping in onto that hook before deciding which feeder they want to land on for free food.

The light rain last night did help to bring out more blooms. The bush is not in full bloom yet but the spots of color are so great. 

Plants are so unpredictable as here is a spring bloom on the chives.  It is the only one on the plant. I will cut chives tonight for baked potatoes. 

I worked outside this morning and it was too hot to be out there. I made a decision that I can build inside on the cool, carpeted floor with air conditioned air. The birds will like a little company. Nothing has been attached here but tomorrow I will start using the power screw driver and get it all squared up for good. I have some tweaking to do on the design before I do that as usual. 

Thanks for checking in today.

Sunny Day....

 

 Front yard and back don't show the feeling of the high humidity. Hot dry would make the grass turn brown so there is a benefit for all that moisture in the air.  My back view doesn't show all the tools and boards piled high from my present ongoing project. 

Coats of water sealer will be applied to protect the new wood. Our country doesn't allow so much tree harvesting so we buy wood from other countries. The entire railing system was made from pine boards from New Zealand. I have planted hostas in pots to fill up the gaps. It is probably overkill with things being too fancy but I do like to create and build. The stairs are such an improvement and it is my easiest way to get to the backyard when I am outside.  I have a sharp hill on the opposite side that is a pain to mow.

I have encircled the Russian sage with wire and support posts to bring it all back into a bunch. It spreads out so badly that I run into it when I mow around it. 

I shared this photo of my tomatoes with my brothers in Arizona and California. They have some difficulty growing them even though the one in Arizona keeps trying. I pulled as many morning glories from the patch but I don't mind if a few get through. I planted small tomato plants in the late evening and I did get some to grow. They are late to ripen but we will have some.  I did pick three small ones last week. 

It is a good day for rest. We have sunshine. We have 85 degrees F. right now with 64 percent humidity. We are predicted to have a hotter week. The grass as slowed down in its growing but it hasn't turned brown yet. I will be watering thing as the days proceed. Thanks for stopping by today.

Saturday and it is Steamy.....

 

In my secret garden area the angel sits and contemplates the heat and humidity. The red in the background is a plastic flag.  I guess the utilities people wanted to mark a line and the flag is still there.

My workspace is outside as sawdust does need to stay outside.   It is about time to clean up and take all the tools back inside as the project is mostly completed.  It has been so hot that sitting in the chair for a break really doesn't work. 

The tiger lilies seem to keep blooming as there are a few buds left to open. 

We had the drought for so many years that the normal blooms are just outstanding. Also the plants themselves spread better as the moisture stays consistent. 

The front yard spread is doing better. I have to water it anyway to get those petunias to bloom. The newly added hardy geraniums are not making much of a statement. 

I worked at water sealing my railings today.  I didn't get done as it took a long time and it got too hot to be out there. There are many more days in the summer to do the job so I will just plug along until it is done. Thanks for stopping by today.

Hot.....

 Hardy Geranium red is so great to see. This is just a small start of the plant but the color is so strong.

In the heat of the day I installed the railings on my stairs. It wasn't so difficult to do once I got started. I just had to sit down on the stairs and work slowly.

While working I was texting with my sons who were having a windy day in Minnesota.  I am pleased with the end result of this project.  I found a gallon of Thompsom's Water Seal leftover from the deck so I will do that first to the new railings.  I still would like to paint them white to match the trellis at the bottom of the stairs but I don't have the energy for that right now. 

The yellow rose bush is starting to show some great blooms. It isn't covered with buds yet but some is better than none.

On the opposite side of the color wheel the purple morning glory is put out a few blooms each day. 

We have lots of humidity with our heat today. It is not comfortable even when you walk from the car to the grocery store. It is Iowa but it would be nice if it were a cooler state.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Shoes of History....

 They have served me well. I first bought them in 2019 and wore them while walking all over Israel. The younger guys of course had Nike shoes but my N shoes worked well for me. They have served me well  as everyday work shoes. Yesterday while mowing the yard my socks got wet from the dew on the grass. Both shoes are losing their rubber, plastic, soles. I have a hole in the one shoe for sure and then the other is flapping as I walk.  They are in the trash and headed for the landfill.

The stair railing is almost done. I know that the gaps look fumy but I have plans for planters between the sets of rails on the flat platforms. I worked on the project between mowing the front yard and the two appointments we had yesterday. I will mow the back yard this morning as soon as the foggy wet morning clears. 

I have always thought moss rose to be a special flower ever since I was a kid back on the farm sixty plus years ago. It foliage is so different and the flowers are so great. 

The weather has helped to keep these lilies going with a longer bloom time. Most of my day lilies are finishing up their bloom cycles. 

the smaller yellow day lilies that grow among the asparagus patch have just a few blooms left. I never picked a single stem of asparagus this year. The weeds seem to have taken over take them while I was vacant from the garden in the spring. 

After a late afternoon doctors appointment I ordered a carry out from Olive Garden for supper.  It was so great and the large amount of food allows us to get two meals from the order.  It is such great food and bread sticks.  

Thanks for stopping by today.

Tuesday, It Doesn't Feel Like It.....

 Sometimes that perfect picture comes around when you aren't working for it. The evening light along with the proper distance to the flower I got a pure clear photo with the real color of the day lily. 

 

 

The new round of buds are atarted on this rose. It is a small bud to a smaller rose but it still has great impact. 

The tiger lily is almost in full bloom now with only a couple of buds left to open. They never last long enough but they were great to see even if I forgot that they were planted there. 

My backyard cottage garden is so colorful right now. Phlox is one of those plants that you have to tolerate it looking like a weed for a long time and then it explodes into great colors. 

The next splash of color should be from these zinnias.  I finally got them to grow. I have not buds at this point but when I do see one or two I know the whole field will be in bloom.  The finches and hummingbirds love these. I hope we get some butterflies this year but so far I haven't seen anything but white small ones. 

We both have appointments tomorrow.  Mine is insignificant in comparison to my hearing doctor and her surgeon. My wife is very strong now and can handle whatever next will come her way.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Sunday Stuff....

 The house finch is standing firm on the top of the post.  He had just been fluttered at by a baby bird. 

The earlier photo shows the fluttering going on by a baby house finch. There is a time when the adults just stop feeding them and they see protesting from their fledglings. 

At the same time a goldfinch is sharing the feeder with another young female house finch. I rarely see the goldfinch but I guess he really likes the shelled sunflower seeds.

I am thinking this is a white phlox but it is slow in putting out all the hundreds of flowers. 

The phlox have really multiplied in my back cottage garden. It is a lot of color out there.  I have to go out and right the birdbath as the racoon once again tries to get a drink of water.  We have three pools in our neighbor's backyards. The statts say that two out of three pools are having parties today. 
Thanks for stopping by today......

Saturday's Wet and Dry.....

 I captured the wet rose as I was outside working today. I got frustrated with the rains but I did just work through some dribbling rain. 

Early photos of a project sometimes look awkward and dumb.  I stick with these things and design as I go along.

I am not done with this but it is looking better.  I have a cap piece for the top and will add a real railing on the other side. I like it in natural wood but I am painting it with white paint to match the white trellis.

I have two small sections to work on. Their basic form is done but I have to put verticals on the frameworks.  Maybe Monday I willl get some more work done.

Friday is the Day....

 I store bought these to celebrate my wife's great health progress. She walks around leaving her walker often. She is continually working to build back muscles everywhere and is gaining weight a little at a time. 

The backdoor view as I sit in a lawn chair and admire all that green. The bunny comes hopping thorugh and bees are landing on the flowers. Butterflies are very few in number at this time.

My oxalis are enjoying the outdoors weather.  They were pretty sad looking when I took them out to sit on the patio table. The rains drip down on them and they are looking so good.

The hydrangea puts out one more bloom. We are told that we are now completely out of the drought. These kinds of plants will do well next season having suffered through three years. 

I am building a railing for my stairs at the outside end of the house and it is too early to share photos of it. am designing as a go like I usually do and I am trying to use up some leftover wood from another project. I feel good about it even though I haven't had enough time to seriously work on it. I had to get a haircut in this morning and had some quality listening time with my neighbor lady. I need to buy some screws to keep the project going.  It did get hot outside by the time I quit.  Thanks for stopping by today.