Lilies

My favorite lilies that sort of grew by themselves by my door.  Unfortunately between being top heavy with blooms and weight from rain the main stalk snapped.  Or else our new ground hog friend took a taste and decided they were not for him.

I put them in water out on the deck.  Can't have them inside due to allergies and cats.  But I am fine with them outside.  Get to enjoy them from the sunroom which is my day room and when I am outside.

Still.....I would prefer them on the actual plant.

Cannot believe that we are halfway through the best of summer.  Still so much to do!  And as always toes are crossed for one of our long, balmy autumns.

I don't like to mention it because that is usually a signal for things going amiss, but I am going to try (operative word *try*). to post here often.  I am returning to thinking of it as a daily journal to set down thoughts, ideas anxieties....name it.  I like the idea of using this because it's not as public as FB.

Stay strong, and as always, thanks for stopping by................*s*

Summer

Are these the dog days of summer?  I must admit that  this is my favorite time of year.  Everything is growing and blooming.

My lilies have been spectacular this year.  I guess our long, snowy winter was good for the perennials.  Actually I think it's more likely due to the fact that fertilized like crazy last summer.

I love it when I get masses of flowers like the lilies.  These go from a pale pink to white and are so fragrant that they scent the whole yard. 

 

 
This alba is very special because it grew from bulblets that I did not know existed.  They were in another part of the garden where the original plant was.  The original died last year, so I was delighted with the new shoots.  I dug and potted them and will plant them when they finish blooming.

The day lily is a special one that I bought from Larry the pond guy the last summer he was open.  It bloomed beautifully in its pot, but last year had no flowers at all.  I am so pleased to see it blooming and in great shape.
 

I haven't put flowers on my work for quite a while.  I'll start out by drawing these from life, but use the photos for reference.  Digital cameras are so great for getting immediate results.

I woke this morning to rain, thunder, and a lot of wind.  It was one of those downpours that feels like buckets of water are being dumped from the sky.  We got about an inch which is always welcome.  Wind gusts of 80 mph were recorded in our town.  Much of the state lost electricity.  For once we didn't.  That is extraordinary in itself.  At this time of year we keep the car well gassed so if we do lose power we can switch to the power inverter.

We are working on restoring the pool.  Removing the liner was not the hassle we thought it might be.

We'll see, grasshopper.....we'll see..........

As always, thanks for stopping by........*s*

Summer!

My lilies are blooming so finally I believe summer is here to stay!  This beauty is a stargazer.  I have no memory of it being a double.  

Two years ago red beetles arrived and ate all the liliums before they bloomed.  This is the first time they have bloomed since then.  The daylilies just go on growing and flowering.  The plain oranges have begun to flower; the named varieties are in bud.

In other news Hurricane Arthur is down south being a hurricane.  It's predicted to hit, if at all, south of Cape Hatteras which means it will go out to sea as it comes north.  We'll get rain, and most likely high tides, but no hurricane.  Besides it's a category one, not very strong.  This doesn't mean it should not be taken seriously.  In a way these weak storms are more dangerous because they aren't taken very seriously.

There is enough rain predicted that the Boston Pops Esplanade Concert is going to make tonights full dress rehearsal into the performance.  All are hopeful that the fireworks will proceed!

Toes crossed that everyone stays safe and dry.

As always, thanks for stopping by.........*s*

Recycle Or.....

Bust?!

We have had a stretch of hot, humid, sunny weather so guess what I have been doing?  Yes!  Drying clay enough to wedge.  I first I just spread it on boards.  Then I decided if I was going to get serious about it I needed to dig out my drying screens.  These are old silk screen frames I replaced with screening.  I lay a piece of old sheeting and then put the clay on it.  The whole thing is raised on bricks for air circulation.  When the clay is ready I roll it up like a jelly roll and wrap it in plastic.  I get even drying with this method and I can do about twenty pounds at a time.

The day lilies are finally blooming.  I bought these last year for Proge to plant by the pond.  They've grown by leaps and bounds.  Others are in bud.

 This is one of the few lilliums that survived the red beetle infestation last summer.  The bugs hate day lilies, or at least they don't demolish them.  I've bought new bulbs and am planting in a different area.  We'll see, grasshopper.......we'll see.....

Mr. Frog is chilling at the edge of the pond.  The water is clear enough to make the fish look as though they are suspended in air.  Proge has won the fight with algae etc.

I've been replanting a bunch of stuff that just didn't make it through our June rains.  We do have a great crop of sassafras.  As far as I am concerned the only good sassafras is in the wood pile.  We took all this stuff down with the brush cutter in the middle of May.  We just have to keep cutting.

I've been baking a fruit (peach and plum) crisp to take to a get together with a group of friends from my first round of college days.  We try to get together at least once a summer.  Our ranks are thinning a little but we still go on with old friends and new.

This post will also be over on Mud Colony.  Hop over and take a look at what is going on elsewhere in the world of clay.

Enjoy the week end and, as always, thanks for stopping by............*s*