Peace Reigns

Things have settled down to a gentle roar, and we have found a modicum of equilibrium.

The dawgs have been sleeping in the studio after the first (miserable) night in my bed and they have adjusted nicely. Dexter gets the leather recliner, while Chumley has usurped Dex's big squishy bed. I am sleeping like a baby...with plenty of legroom. My mood has brightened considerably.




Chumley, looking fit (ha!) grabs a quick forty winks whenever he can. We took the boys to my sister's house yesterday where they could play in the water of Possum Creek. There is always a lot of boat traffic resulting in many waves hitting the beach and both dogs went nuts biting the water and wading in up to their bellies. Running and chasing and playing stick-keep away wore everyone out and they (including Dave, the passenger) slept all the way home. This is the kind of thing we had hoped for when we thought about a second dog, and are greatly pleased that they are entertaining each other and working off their doggie energy.

The last few hot days seem to have subsided and we are back to normal warmth, and the garden is exploding. The gold Stella d'oro daylilies are a bright spot amongst the green and purple of the back garden. I emptied the goldfish pond water again at the base of the hydrangea, in hopes of more purple blooms.
Dexter is a real water dog. He goes into the pond several times a day, fearlessly, up to his belly, and Chumley follows suit, but at the more shallow and much muddier end. Then he jumps in my lap and I am washing more muddy clothes as a result.

It's daylily time at the Mexican Chalet and these magenta blooms are the beginning of the special colors we usually have. The first to open are the wild 'ditch lilies' and I think now I will remove them and put something more classy in their spots. Dave and Mike made the shade garden easier to cultivate by removing the rocks, and stumps of previous plantings. Plus we have more sun there now with several of the larger trees cut down. I am going to have change the name from shade garden to something else...hydrangea garden? If so, more hydrangeas are necessary (and so desired.)

The sweet potato vines have begun filling in the flower boxes nicely and I am loving the red salvia so much this year, as it branches out and keeps producing blooms. Daily watering is the key, I think.
 We have three hummingbirds which make it a point to visit often for their nectar.






 
Our Knock-Out rose bush is living up to its name. This is the easiest rose I have ever grown, with no disease problems and very little in the way of pests. I am looking for more bright spots to plant one, and while the proposed area may be sunny, the soil is rock hard, pitiful clay. O well. Mustn't be greedy.

 Lettuce leaf basil, my favorite variety. I picked a big bunch along with some parsely and dill and made pesto and then cucumber salad with the dill. My peppers are fruiting out and soon I will be picking some for salads, along with Supersweet 100's tomatoes. Summer is looking and tasting good.