Rainy Day.

7-7-26 VERMONT: It’s a nice cool rainy day, in the sixties. We got 0.25 inches so far. I already emptied the boat, one job after each rain is to dump the rainwater out of the boat. I have to refill a hummingbird feeder also. 

We went to Frost Gardens yesterday, a nursery that always closes in July and has a sale of all the stock that is unsold. I bought some stuff to work in the empty spots in the gardens. I got a spiderwort, ‘Sweet Kate’ Trascantia, two hybrid daylily, ‘Happy Returns’, Homercallis, two bee balm, Monarda didyma, and six cardinal flowers, Lobelia cardinalis and six poppies, Tangerine Jem. 

Hillary and Matt come tomorrow, and so will have plenty to do, as they already have the milkweed to plant. I’ve decided to pull the peonies out of the bed below the deck because they are getting overwhelmed by the other stuff and move them to the pond bank. Next weeks job. 

New blooms: first hosta, summer azalea, ox eye, false sunflower, more delphinium, hybrid daylily, bee balm, astilbe, hydrangea, St. Johns wort. 

Early morning, just before the sunrise. This is an unedited cell phone image.

Here's a closer look. It was all gone a few minutes later, and then I went back to sleep.

Hybrid daylily in red.

And another, two tone, with a fly.

Regular daylily with Japanese maple.

Ox eye on the pond bank.

Summer azalea. Ours are in these sweet, pastel colors in contrast to the vivid colors of the spring azaleas.

First of many hostas.

Happy Fourth.

7-3-26 VERMONT: We have been prisoners of the heat wave, held captive in the house with cool air from the heat pumps. There has been rain every day 0.75 inches, which has kept everything watered. The bedroom has been hot at night, but the window fan cools it off enough. The cool air doesn’t get upstairs, no ducts above the first floor.

I have had to water the tomatoes on the deck and six milkweed plants that I bought at Browns to add to the milkweed bed on the pond bank. I’m waiting for Hillary and Matt to plant them. They are swamp milkweed ‘Soulmate’ Asclepsias incarnata. That bed has lost a lot of the plants it had last year—drought, maybe. 

Happy Fourth to everyone [except the administration], enjoy the fireworks. We will be watching on TV trying to keep the dogs calm. The dogs have not liked the T-storms we’ve had the past few nights. I haven’t liked them much either. 

New blooms: filipendula, daylily, delphinium, Shasta daisy.

Daylily, the flower of July. This one opened June 30 and the last one will probably be August 1. They are commom and grow everywhere, but are always a welcome sight in mid-summer, another one of my favs.

Red sky at dawn, but don't sweat it if you're not sailing in the tropics.

Judy and I got the buggy out of the barn. It has made it's journey for the year, but looks good in the yard.

Luna Moth on ferns during the day. They only live about a week and don't eat or drink, living only to mate. Check out those lacy antennae.

Shasta daisy. Thjey like the pond bank and full sun.

Maltese cross. Originally the eight-pointed cross was the symbol of the medieval Knights Hospitaller, but now is a symbol for firefighters.