Checking in, staying in out of the heat.......

Yellow Kockout Rose

We are 96 degrees today and it is taking everything down except for the tomatoes and the the pink knock out rose.  The yellow one does not like the heat.

 

Portrait of Lorrie, Iris

My neighbor sprayed for creeping charlie near this iris so two out of three buds perished and this one  ever opened normally.  When strong winds helped to deform it's shape but it's color of blue is still wonderful.

Bumble Bee, iris

This is what I called a cemetery iris and that is the name many call it when you research it on the internet.  Some have given it the name Bumble Bee.  I did read a couple years back that this specific variety was the one scientist use to develop the hybrid iris of today. I have only three cemetery iris that bloomed this  year.   I know there is a full yellow plant and lavender plant in this early older variety.

Here is another shot of my purple and white cemetery iris.  It bloomed well this  year for me and I think I have it established in a good location now that it will multiply. 

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog..........I still have a snake story to tell, a new one, after today.

Monday morning's offering.........

Across the street

This was a field of alfalfa hay a week ago.  They mowed it down and only received three large bales of hay from it.  They think the alfalfa was diseased as it usually made eleven bales on the first cutting. They brought in a special disc and cleared the plants and it has now been planted with soy beans. 

Another view of peonies that are all but gone because of the heat.

Have a great day...........

Sunday's selections.........

I have one bloom on my spiderwort plant and this is it. It seems to be sensitive to border collie dogs walking all over it. 

My small tomato seeds are now out in the wide open air in the big world.  They just love this hot sun and they are taking off with the heat.

I have a pink peony that sits next to the alley that is pure pink through and through.  I need to move it closer to the house or at least move some of it.  My neighbor gets to enjoy it as it is in the alley next to their back driveway.

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

Sitting down for a Saturday blogging session.....

This is a photo of last years zinnias.  I need to get them into the ground soon, very soon.  It may happen today if the morning isn't too hot.

I need to go next door and help unload some bags of dirt for the neighbor.  I push mowed the house in southern Iowa yesterday.  I really had to take breaks every twenty minutes.  The heat effects the muscles when the humidity is really high.  I hope that the grass will slow it's growing down a little and I can spread out the times to cut.  My old push mower has to be begged to work each time.  Either clean the spark plug or hand feed the gas in the carb.  Some of the controls are falling off the handle and it's time to bring out the duct tape.

A new problem arises each time I go to the house, that is the one I am trying to sell.  The water is back up and running and the city put a new meter on it. It is one in which they can drive down the street and read it electronically with a scanning gun.  The sliding glass door is thirty  years old and all of a sudden it now stops opening after you slid it 18 inches.  I guess I could just sell it to skinny people.  I will have to take it all apart and see how it works.  Maybe I can find info on how they were made back then.  I don't see rollers but there might be some on the bottom of the door.

It was a good thing that I took photos of this clematis at my neighbor's a couple of days ago as half of it is now dead.  I am going to tell on her that as she was cutting out mulberry trees which were growing up in the woven fence, she cut one of the vines.  Dead for the  year it will be, but there is next year.

The sun and heat is making the peonies droop.  A rain would take them out of course.  I  have noticed that I don't have any pure white peonies.  Across the street a property has only white ones in two long rows.  I do remember the people who use to live there and I am certain they planted them.  The present neighbor doesn't like the mess, so he mows them all down as soon as the blooms get to dropping.  I will need to go see him about a swap of a start of his plant.  Maybe he would like me to just take them all away.

My rose William Baffin got so much water from the roof of my shed that it almost killed it out.  I have had a revived area that is blooming this year and one sprout I think I will transplant away from the shed. It is still a partial mess of dead branches even though I trimmed most of it out of there last summer.


Have a good weekend and thanks for stopping by...............I have snakes everywhere outside now.  I will share about that later.

Sunny and Hot!

This iris also belongs to my neighbor Judy.  I take photographs of her flowers and send them to her so she doesn't have to learn how to download her own pictures on her new computer.

Seeing pink on Thursday...........

We have a good chance of rain again today.  I had just decided I wouldn't mow my yard as often to save gas and money, but the rains just keep coming.  I use to mow every two weeks because I was just too busy to get it done as a full time teacher.  I am now doing it once a week but I thought I might just make it every nine days no matter what.

Have a great day, Friday is coming and may good things come your way.............

More garden stuff........

It is best to keep the sun off my face with our hot sunny summers. I have had to see a skin specialist in the past twice for not wearing a hat.  I do think that I might start looking for a new straw hat, but it still does serve it's purpose.

The flag iris were able to get it's blooming started before we hit severe heat.  The rain and the wind took out a lot of my iris overnight.  Others are tough and can handle the weather.

This is a close shot of my barberry bush. It really is a showing specimen with all the rain that we have received.

The middle of the week is here already and I have many different things to do.  I haven't made a list but I probably should.  It is to keep warming up through the week and I need to by some framing materials and more mat board. I have fish to be moved to the outside pool and birdcages to take outside and clean.  It can be a major task but the birds like to go outside and I can take an industrial vacuum to the cage floors and really get them cleaned up.

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