Raindrops!

Finally! Some real rain! We've gone several weeks without significant rain (which is usual for us in the summer), but since our summer "drought" started earlier than usual, the garden has been struggling. Sprinklers are nice, but sprinkler drops are NOT the same as rain drops. I don't know why, but they just don't adhere or hang the same way as a raindrop. So, after our rain yesterday, I ran out and caught a few shots. It's raining again today. I love the way it smells. I love the way it sounds. I need to remind myself of that this fall and winter, when it's been raining for 4 or 5 months straight....

To Market, Again

My favorites...I just want to dive face first onto the table. The color, the scents, the taste...HEAVEN!
I love Farmers' Markets. They are a visual delight of colors and textures.

Whoever knew that carrots came in so many colors and shapes? I mean--YELLOW carrots? ROUND carrots??

WHITE carrots?? PURPLE carrots??? Can you imagine trying to get your kids to eat purple carrots????

Look at all the cool colors and textures in these ordinary onions. Farmers' Markets are wonderful!

Farmer's Market

I love it when I get a chance to browse the Farmer's Market down in Issy. The colors, the variety, the flowers...it is all such eye candy!

These heirloom tomatoes are just too interesting to pass by. Who could be satisfied with plain old boring red tomatoes after seeing these?
Mmmmmm...fresh, plump sugar snap peas...

I've seen orange carrots, but never the dark reddish orange variety before.

And let's not forget the flowers!

Daylily doldrums

My poor garden... Some years are great gardening years, and some years are less than stellar. This year is one of the latter. Between not having a lot of time to devote to the garden, a LOT less rain than usual this spring, and an excessive overabundance of rabbits and too many deer, my garden has really taken a hit. My daylilies, which are usually glorious, bloomed as fast as they could, as if they just wanted to get the whole thing over with. Managed to get a few shots, but I could feel where they were coming from. But, there is always next year!! Hope springs eternal in the gardener's breast.

Blue challenge

We had a blue challenge over on 2Ps, and although I didn't use these images, I couldn't resist them. Who would've guessed you could have so much fun with the cover of a spiral notebook?

Yellow drops

We had just enough light misty rain yesterday morning to give me some nice rain drops. Haven't had much rain yet this summer, and I've had to make do with the sprinkler. I've forgotten how I prefer the raindrops. There's something to the way they form, and adhere, and cling that is better than the sprinkler drops. So, celebrating the little rain we had!

Back to the Edge

I love the different textures on the edges of my daylilies. This small blossom has really thick petals that are crimped and ruffled and almost meaty... I like the way the veining is so prominent, too.
Then, since I had so much fun going abstract with the hosta edges, I decided to do the same with the daylilies, because then I could play with color as well as shape!

On the Edge

My hosta edges were looking particularly inviting and abstract lately....

Serenity

A little serene vignette spotted at the nursery a while back...

Calla Curves

I love calla lilies (don't I sound like Katherine Hepburn....?) There is something about the line and the curve of the flower that pulls me in every time. They are so elegant in their simplicity, and so striking. This pink one (at Lowe's, yet!!) really caught me with that wonderful green edge, and the striation in the larger calla.

And this one, with all the tight curves and flares and lines---I could photograph these again and again.

Lady's Mantle, adorned

I have Lady's Mantle growing in my garden. It is a prolific, enthusiastic grower, with a nondescript flower, and green circular leaves that look like they are pleated. Nothing too fancy except when it rains or we have had dew. THEN the magic shows up--all the serrated edges of the leaves, and the little tiny hairs on the leaves, capture the droplets and turn the edges into beaded wonders. I love the way the smaller droplets cling to the surface of the leaf and embellish it as well. Because of that I leave them in my garden, and hover over them on the mornings when it's rained (or the sprinkler has gone off...).

My Guys

Father's Day---David came out and we grilled--Rick and David were the GrillMeisters, and ruled the deck. It was a fun day, and nice to hang out with David now that he has his own place. Rick was in the hospital two days after this for 8 days; another procedure on his right lung. Home now and recuperating slowly. Still not well enough to get the heart procedure done, but we're working on it. Helping Rick is keeping me pretty busy, but I hope to find some time to get some photos and some editing and posting done, just for the mental health break it provides. Laura, Ben and the girls are coming in a couple of weeks when Rick is stronger, so we are ALL looking forward to that!!