Sunny Day

 Backlighting keeps me from showing the colors clearly. The birds all seem to think that the stands are a must part of the eating from the feeder.

I did a lot of clipping  back of the spent blooms on my roses. This rose is all trimmed except it had one flower showing off as a lonely bloom. I have many scratch wounds again even though I wear gloves. 

A lone day lily, planted there last season, is now putting out some blooms.  They seem pale and weak but maybe all the other buds will bloom out better.

The rains have caused the tomato plants to take off quickly. Rain seems to always do a better job than hand watering.  The varieties include Big Boy, Better Boy, Roma and one yellow one. I bought them small but they will produce quit well. 

It is a mild, cool day today and we are enjoying the sunshine. It makes for a perfect Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Saturday's Stuff....

 The rains are done for a while. It keeps things looking great for the lily season. My phlox and hollyhocks are perking up also with the needed moisture. 

One of the younger mourning doves that knows where to find free food. When it is tired it just sits down in the seed.

The begonia has been alive for a few seasons.  It winters in the basement and comes out to bloom again. 

 

 The new finches are making themselves at home. The lonely cockatiel gave me a song this morning as I talked to him. He doesn't do that often for me as he really is bonded to my wife and he sings for her every time he sees her.   

I was complaining that my zinnia seed wasn't growing well. Now with all the scattered rains I have them coming up in all the places that I planted. When they get another weeks growth on them I will start placing them in rows. 

It is too wet to mow this morning and I am not sure that I really need to do it. I have my neighbor's yard to do also now.  I may have to do their backyard this afternoon.  Mine is just fine. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Friday....Finish.

 The rains through the night and into the morning are so welcomed. I hope it gives us more than the small rains we have had in the past week. I waded out in the wet grass to get some newer shots for the day.

The cupola cottage garden area is shaping up with many blooms now. The new star gazer lily, light tan in color, is putting out great aromas. The phlox are just starting to bloom and yes the house looks like it is falling off of its post.  

 

 This star gazer variety of lily is wonderful.  I had three different colors of these at one time but I only one now that I have left.

There is a definite size difference between the adult mourning dove and one of its young ones. The thin neck gives this one away as being young 

One of the two brothers, cockatiel, took a fall in its cage two days ago. It died from its injuries. Yesterday I bought some zebra finches to keep the lone cockatiel company. the lone brother does call out for his partner once in a while but I am hoping these two with all their activity will keep him distracted from his missing one.  I did see a four hundred dollar cockatiel at the pet store for sale but I will bide my time. The neighborhood network link sometimes has birds that people want to give away for free. Life goes on and the two finch will be fun to watch as they are  young and are still growing to adulthood. 

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Thursday....

 The cone flower crop is minimal from three years of drought. This will be a building season to bring back the base.

We were glad to have cool weather this morning. It hasn't warmed up much but has been an overcast most of the day with sprinkles happening this afternoon. 

The Russian sage does smell good. I am not a big fan of this plant but it does make a great cut flower. The former owner has planted it in many places and I have tried to reduce some of them. 

I have proof that I have been working on the neglected places in the gardens. It is a continual work but I had to play catch-up the past three weeks. I still have some invading vines that need to be cleared and  volunteer trees must be destroyed. I am still having to water things a lot as we haven't been getting rain. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Burning Heat....

 

 The orchid is a fascinating type of flower.  There are only a couple of buds yet to open. 

The Asiatic lily looks great right now.  The heat doesn't really bother it much.The heat really did bother me this morning.  I got the knock out roses dead headed but it was too hot to be out there. I didn't get ill and yet I could tell it took a chunk of energy out of me. It really is too early in the season for us to be so hot. We have flooding going on to the north of us and now we have all that water coming down our way. Our Lake Saylorville is said to be expected to raise its level by thirty feet.  The Des Moines River that the lake dumps into will be over its banks now as well as other rivers that come down our way.  It is such a strange thing that our area in the state, southeastern corner is still considered to be in drought.  

We might get rain tonight.  Its too warm to take shots so I am limited on photos today. Thanks for stopping by today.

A Hot Day.....

 The hot weather helps to cause so many different cloud formations. The sun is behind there somewhere.

The old leaky birdbath makes a great planter for the moss rose. As the day progresses the flowers start to shrink back from all of the heat. 

Being a leaky planter I can not worry about over watering it.  It is actually a perfect growing situation with me and the watering can or the rains that fall on it. 

The daylily was purchased at an arboretum in which you paid a price, like a grab bag, buying an unidentified plant, and took a chance. It is a similar variety that I already have but its color is much more intense. 

My one new clematis has a pathetic bloom. I do hope it gets to be more robust in the size. I am glad it is growing. 

This day lily is just starting to open up its buds. It is a nice bloom with the ruffy edges.  It is a hot and high humidity day. I didn't go out to do any work today. The yard really didn't need to be mowed today anyway.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Some Things.....

 

 

 

 

Saturday of Heat....

 The new young mourning doves have a hard time adjusting to the real world. This one showed up at the feeder and just sits. It did turn around and eat some seed but he has just stayed there for over a half an hour. It left for awhile and is now back sitting on the railing next to the old wooden feeder, again he is just sitting there. 

My antique sauce pan is not great for plants.  I don't want to drill a hole in the bottom of it so I have to lay it on its side after a rain.  I have now moved it out from under the deck and it won't get rained on again.  I know I will never use it as a sauce pan but I just don't want to destroy an antique. 

 

 I bought some more petunias to fill in a garden space next to the garage door. It is a different variety but I bought a couple of them to make things look better.  It is getting to be where nurseries are shutting down their bedding plants. 

I found a variety of hosta that I didn't have.  I have looked around and I have them mostly. This one is a new one for me though and they named it June. It was the last one sitting among a lot of the ones that I already have in my garden. I cut the plant into three parts and planted it in the front of the house. I actually kept one small part for a friend who had come and sample my hosta a month ago. Obsessive collecting comes in plants too but I do know I can't get them all.  I have a catalog from a hosta company and there are a couple of strange ones in there that I really don't ever want. 

It is very hot and humid today. I am staying inside except for going to the mailbox. It is better to be inside.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Marching Orders.....

 They are not sheep being moved from field to field. They aren't cattle being moved up the road to a neighbor's other grazing field. They are adult Canada geese moving their clutches of young ones from a large swampy ravine next to our large grocery store parking lot. I was returning from the optometrist appointment.  I couldn't figure out why cars were stopped. One does break for them as hitting one would be a big problem. There were two different long strands of young geese following their parents. I would guess that the there were over two dozen of them.

 

 I call it bee balm. It has had a couple of bad drought-filled summers I think the rains will bring the plants back for another season. Red monarda is the closer term for its name.  I have the pinker color too but it hasn't shown up yet. At my old place it had taken over a full corner of the garden under a tree.

 

 One of my other daylilies is starting to bloom. I have a new one open but the photo hasn't been taken yet. It is 90 degrees F. this afternoon. It is more like an August day than a day in June. 

I have zinnias showing up in the one flat of soil. It is a mystery as to why the adjacent square of soil only has one plant coming up.

Yep, evidence of one single seed that has developed. I haven't looked at the area yet today. 

Most all of my roses are needing to be dead headed. I think I can do that on cool mornings. The sooner they are cut back the sooner I will get more buds. 

I have a future of cataract surgery now. I was warned at the last appointment that I was going to be needing the work done. The actual happening is going to require a lot of planning and different appointments into the works. I was told that once the surgery does get into the works that they have a waiting list of months. I live with blurry eyesight most of my life but being able to correct it all will be a luxury even at my age. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

THINKING.....

 

 The guy is enjoying the break from the rain. He has been seeing days of light rain off and on for two days. 

 

 A few of my day lilies are starting to bloom. They each bloom at different times which makes the season last longer.

The hollyhocks have multiplied and I am glad to have them.  The voles took out everything three or more years ago and it has taken a long time to get any plants back and blooming. I did buy this one and it isn't a borrowed or moved plant. 

The regale lily doesn't might the rains but it does droop a little with all the rain on them. They are wonderful now after years of repeat growth from the start of one plant. 

The hosta is not allowing the creeping phlox to bother its growth.  I am frustrated with the phlox as it has taken over everything in that level. I think I will just plant it full of hosta and see if I can drive it back some more. 

I didn't work outside this morning as it rained a little again this morning. It is too wet so I found things to do inside. I need to work on straightening my work shop and I do that in spurts. A little each day makes a job less difficult.  I don't have a lot of goals for the day and have no plans to go anywhere.  I bought needed groceries yesterday and some chores are getting done throughout the day.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Gotcha......

 A partial shot is better than no shot at all.  It was later evening and we were watching television when I glanced ou the side window. Grabbed the camera and shot wildly. 

The lighting is bad in the evening so I can't get much detail with the camera. I still like the wings put out such wonderful movement and I could capture it. 

Another visitor to the window at the same time is this bright yellow one.  The goldfinch  did turn to look at me for a second.

Another visitor was busy eating that one kind of leafed weed. He really was concentrating on taking it out. 

My true red day lily is now starting to share its blooms. I took the shot in low light and it did give me truer color than when it is in bright light. 

 

We had rain throughout the night.  It didn't amount to a lot but it was good to get it. My backyard is less green now as our heat has yellowed some of the grass.  It was a hot muggy day yesterday and we are cooled off some today. All of the hostas looks so robust but the roses are now finished blooming.  I need to dead head a lot of bushes. Maybe this afternoon I can venture out when the grass has dried.  Thanks for stopping by today.