Fast and dirty

I didn't take any pain killers today, and now I am paying the price. I seem to be having a bit of a relapse.
Just took two Vicodin, so I better get this down before I get all flubby.
Scenes from today:

Our tika-marked bunny came over to the fountain to sample the weeds (what are those wide-leaved weeds?). If you enlarge the picture, you can see a very fat tick in his ear. Poor guy. I hope he has someone who can groom that off.

The yard birds are starting to bring their babies to the feeders...a young chipping sparrow...

...and a young cardinal.

The tree frogs seem to have left the immediate neighborhood, but the bull frogs have moved in, so we don't feel lonely. I think this guy is trying to make a hula hoop.

"Hi! I is a squirrel. Is you allowed to come out and play wif me?"

Gotta love it. Beetle porn. Shameless hussies.
I am not ashamed to say that I tried to see exactly how they do it. Couldn't figure it out. But I did notice that the "bottoms" kept on eating. It must be boring...beetle sex. Imagine eating a sandwich in the middle of "you know". Must be demoralizing.

I am glad that I moved one of the feeders closer to the windows. First, it can cut down on window strikes (forces the birds to slow down) and I can get pictures like this without zooming.


And the gravy:

"My name is Queen....LAAAAAAAAAA!"

I'm sweaty. And it's humid. And I don't like it.

It was hot and humid and I didn't leave the house today except to flush out the brown sludge that has developed in the fountain.
I kept busy by repotting house plants, doing laundry, cleaning anything I could find, just to keep from going outside.
The girls are pretty good at amusing themselves, but...
This is what happens when you let them pick out their own clothes.

Plaid, stripes and polka-dots. Oh, dear.
And sine the birds were hot, too, there was very little activity at the feeders, so I was taking pictures of random things in the house:

I started collecting cobalt glass a few years ago, but as so many things do, it sort of fell by the wayside...and this is all I have.
But I cleaned the shelves!
And I hand-painted those stars, I might add. The kitchen is sunny yellow, with royal blue accents. Happy, happy!


On top of the pantry:
An aluminum pitcher that belonged to my Grandma, a piece of pottery from the in-laws holding a hyacinth bean plant, and some fake sunflowers in a rattan vase. The hyacinth bean is a really interesting plant, and the vine can climb to 10 feet. But since I don't want it outside, I will have to continue to build larger and larger trellises to keep up with it.


Whenever Mom goes on a trip and we watch her dog, she brings back a wind chime as a thank-you. This is one of many.

The poinsettia that I bought last Christmas is still alive! I can't believe it. I jazzed up the pot with stones and shells, just for kicks.

When it finally cooled off enough this evening, I went out to check on the plants...

The patch of wildflowers the girls and I planted is really taking off, even though the rain has been lacking. All that I can recognize so far is marigolds, cosmos...and that's it. There are some broad-leafed things, and some soft, lamb's-ear-looking things, too. And some stuff that is tall and thin and frosted.


We have a bunny hanging around that has a little white spot on his/her forehead...awww.

Finally! The bee balm is blooming!

And the Japanese beetles are eating like it's going out of style.
See how it's holding up its legs? That's a defense pose. Ugly little buggers.
Did you know that they were first seen in the country, in NEW JERSEY, in 1916?

Laura thought this might be coral honeysuckle, but I compared it to some photos, and I don't think that's it. It finally opened up, and the flowers are star-shaped. The leaf veins are red, if that helps anyone. And it's not a vine, but an upright, woody plant. I wish I had the list of flowers I got that day...
Well, anyway. It's blooming and it's pretty.