Dry July.

7-12-22 VERMONT: Val and Steve arrived for dinner tonight, we grilled chicken with roasted veggies, salad and strawberries with whipped cream. There was a lot of catching up during and after dinner. They arrived as the rain was stopping.

The rain was a shower for an hour, hard rain at times with some L & T in the background. We got 0.2 inches of much needed precip. I have been watering almost everyday. The upper pond is down a foot now, and it will need enough rain to saturate the hillside above it so that the runoff fills the pond. It will probably take a hurricane.

I have been busy with chores every day and Addie is set to come this week for more garden care. All the hydrangea transplants except one look good.

We had a dinner party last Friday for Steve and Diana, John, Katie and Andy and Susan without Bryan. The big hit was Judy’s peach Pavlova for dessert. The next day was re-cycling for all the empty wine bottles. Judy and I also had dinner at Midva in Windsor a couple nights ago—very nice. We also has a visit from Adina, Colin and Micah last Saturday. 

The septic system was pumped out during the week. Last pumping was 2013. 

New blooms: rosebay rhododendron, delphinium, swamp milkweed, hosta, more hybrid daylilies, meadow sage. 

Hybrid daylily, nice if you like red.

Another HDL, this one so pale as to be ghostly.

Great Spangled fritillary. This one sat still long enough for a pic.

Goldfinch, American, some are almost white, but this one has deep color.

Robin, American, they are so common on the lawn and around the yard that we tend to dismiss them, but we must recognise that they are an extremely successful species, which is why they're so common.