On looking around

I don't know why, but I see smiley faces everywhere. I try to show the kids, as the boys especially get a kick out of them. I confess, the Cheerios were left that way on purpose by Damon for me. Enjoy your day! =D

"Who are the people in your neighborhood?"

Now that song, from "Sesame Street," is in my head. Great. This isn't really a people post, but I thought I'd share some shots I've gotten lately. 

One of our many bunnies:

Inchworm:

Honey, our Great Pyrenees, who is a lover and a swishybutt and a huge scaredy chicken when it comes to loud noises.

The Bos, the little brother, the pain in the butt, the good-thing-you're-cute-and-I'm-a-sucker-for-dotty-eyebrows, the Stealer of Sandwiches and Pancakes and Anything Else Tasty You Leave Unattended on the Table. 

A killer moth! Just kidding. He's just regular sized, but Dada liked the illusion of how he looked very large on the deck.

The Phoebe nest in the shed. It's empty now, but we'd startled the poor mama any time we needed to get Stuff out of the shed. Not sure why she builds there every year!

After the rain

We got some actual rain yesterday, which Honey wasn't happy about as she despises thunder and heavy downpours, but everybody in the garden was happy about it! Even the Damonater ran around outside barefoot and in his pajamas to experience the puddles and the drips from the trees and the rain itself. No pictures of that, sorry; I was too busy laughing at him to get my phone. You'll just have to use your imagination.

These morning glories always make me think of Grandma Barb as I'd lent her some to keep an eye on and they ended up taking over most of her front landscaping. She loved purple. They make me smile every time I see them.

I replanted peas as they are not hot weather fans. I put some new ones under the usual trellis but these guys think they're in a  race and have taken off running!

We are getting tons of cherry tomatoes, which is the majority of the tomatoes I like anyway (heehee) and while we have humungous "real" tomatoes, they're not blushing yet. Our Brandywines, Cherokee Purples, and Allegheny Sunsets are stubbornly green. I really hope they don't all decide to ripen at the exact same time!

I sent a picture of this to Muggin with the caption "es-ca-pay!" He's completely a free-range tomato plant; I didn't plant him, and I sure don't know where he thinks he's going!

Cheerful, Thumbelina zinnias who decided to all bloom en masse. They took forever to open this year!

There's a basil in there for comparison and you can see that some of those tomato plants are taller than me!

Fun outdoor surprises

I am getting such a kick out of the surprises I’m finding outdoors. I’d had an eye out for the baby praying mantises but hadn’t seen any; now I’m wondering if it’s because in my head they were still colorless and now they are apparently green! Always amazing how much I forget from year to year, haha!

Today I was picking berries and started from the opposite side of the patch and I bet that’s why I saw an exciting surprise:

I’m so excited! I hope I didn’t scare the mama away from the nest. What a fun place to raise babies!

*Initially I thought these were hummingbird eggs because they seemed sooooo tiny. Apparently the only ones who nest around here are Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds. 

However, as I've startled the mama more than once and gotten a good look and listen, I'm leaning towards wrens; she doesn't hover, she flits to the closest fence rail and lands.*

My alien bio-scouts

Haha, I love borage! I love how it really owns its space, how it has zillions of buds, how interesting the blossoms are, the blue violet petals, the huge, hairy green leaves. What a cool plant!