Glad to be inside! (Thankful Thursday)

Rick brought in the last blooming gladiolus after digging all the glad bulbs. There *was* frost this morning, after all.

I'm very thankful for my husband's thoughtfulness. He never stops making me smile.

 

Fresh from the backyard!

Mmmmm. This is when "summer" becomes "yummer".

Tracery from Days Past

It's a bit cooler than usual for 08.08.08, but DEFINITELY HOT compared to the day I took this.

I like to revisit these images on days like today. I never want to take for granted how comfortable I am *right now*, temperature-wise.

I appreciate the delicate beauty of days like the one pictured, and I know it's no joke when snow is called 'the poor man's fertilizer'. My gargantuan tomatoes ripening in the backyard bear powerful testimony to that!

Lurking Leafpeeper

Awesome bug (literally, a True Bug)in Mike's magnolia tree. It's a big Hemipteran, almost an inch long.

flowers for our 1st wedding anniversary

Just the way I like them, too: still in the ground and growing.

 

Hibiscus.

Earlier today, one of the very nice people from Heights Garden Center came over and complimented us on this lovely plant. How nice! Especially since WE didn't make it pretty. WE just dug a hole and put it in. It's been on its own ever since.

Red and Yellow Thrill a Fellow ...er, ME

The color in our front yard continues to amaze me, as does the staying power of these poppies.

The cranesbill (periwinkle-colored blooms just beyond the poppies) are no slackers, either!

Normally I'm not wild about pink, but...

...there always has to be an exception! These are the first hollyhocks of the season. In *our* yard, at least. I've seen them blooming in other people's gardens for about 2 weeks now, and I am delighted to have some blooms in mine!

The next bloom will be black, my favorite. It's extraordinary.

 

This just tickles me...every single time

My neighbor is mowing his lawn again. Good thing he has something to sit on while he cares for such a vast holding.

Sun Dappled Puppy

Our patio and 'new' patio furniture is a popular hangout for critters of all types!

>PHEW!< Especially on a hot, humid day like this.

photo credit: Rick Garcia

 

Red

The wild strawberries volunteering in our flowerbeds are spectacular this year! Bigger than ever, and they seem even redder, too. Sadly, they have NO flavor.

They sure are nice to look at, though!

 

Inter-Hosta Spike

Nice. We are hoping this lupine will rebloom (is that a word?) this season. At least we are hoping for some multiplication. It's too nice an additon to our backyard to hope otherwise.

Front Yard Fancies

Geraniums. This variety grows wild in Ohio woods, and when they're seen in a wooded glade, they are called Cranesbill. But here in my front yard, it's another lovely purpley-blue flower that goes by the name 'geranium'.

Day's Eye

Our daisies are growing simply *everywhere*! This one is part of a clump that sprang up between our brick steps and asphalt (who's fault?) driveway. Persistent! And I love them.

Columbines!

They came back in droves to brighten our front garden beautifully this year. I love columbines!

Green Car? Hybrid? SOMEthing...

May I present (fanfare, please!) The Sproutmobile! Some mystery seed found a home on one of our VW Golfs. I'm not sure *what* that says. I *am* sure, though, that we won't let this odd sprout grow to full maturity just to find out what the screaming heck it is...

The Rabbit and the Wolf(flower)

I did NOT plant that lupine there to feed the local wildlife! That's for MY eyeballs!

Don't get me wrong. I love rabbits; the babies are extra cute. But come ON!! Nosh on the buttercups, for cri yi! There's tons of that. I've only got one lupine.

Please don't make me hanker for hassenpfeffer.

Thanks.

 

Color Swatch

Just a small taste of our developing front yard. The bulb plants and red ossier dogwood are done blooming for the season. The rudbeckia and cannas aren't anywhere near their full height, let alone blooming. So today there is beauty and drama, but there is promise of plenty more to come!

I have to give credit to my ever hard-working husband. The garden is his masterpiece. There is some naturalizing involved, but he has done all the digging and initial planting. He amazes me, and each year our yard looks more lovely than it did the last.

Dog's Eye View

Cleo and I are listening to an amazingly melodious robin in our tree (*OUR* tree! How lucky is that? It's a guarantee, like having 'The Robin Channel' on the radio!) and occasionally the visiting dog next door, who is (so far *only*) intermittently yappy. I love our little backyard.

Criminy. Not AGAIN. Not TWICE in a Day.

Criminy. Not AGAIN. Not TWICE in a Day.
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Well, now we know why I don't EVER pick the flowers from our yard for interior flower-strewing: they really WILL be strewn. Note the tasteful and artistic reflecting pond that cascades down the face of the dresser and moistens the table linens within.

Arrangement by Rebecca. REarrangement by Anonymous F*c%ng Cat.