Dog Days of Summer

I was supposed to be watering the potted plants on the deck....... ★★★★★

Then I saw the sky above, below my dampened feet.

Then lo and behold, a fountain appeared


And the wind blew



and suddenly it all came clear.



Summer is running its course



Soon the Fall will be upon us.

And now, from the NE Pacific Inland Valley Region

Summer On The Famous Oregon Beaches

Oregon has really crowded beaches, and it is very difficult to find a place to lay one's blanket or towel in a nice and quiet area, without having a kid run by (with their dog) kicking sand all over as they try to catch an errant frisbee that sails past.

And now, a walk through the garden:

One of the causes of much angst, sniffling noses, itchy eyes, lumpy throats and for some of us; the need to keep the inhalers in the jacket pocket.

We decided to trim back one of our 4 huge photinias in order to shed some light on our deck, and to clear some room for our greenhouse that will soon be constructed there! The photinias were in full bloom, but 3 were left; much to the bees happiness and their need for pollination. Well, by then the 3 remaining photinias decided to pass out when the cutting started. The next morning there were leaves dropped all over the deck under all the photinias, as though they were crying for their newly shorn partner (now all wood).It will all happily grow back to crowd us once again. Just wait until it is time for all of them to get their trims, now that the flowers are spent and the bees happily off to a new flavored pollen.

Separating the backyard from the front yard.

Our Banks rose, now 3 years old.

This was a Father's Day gift for Danny, all growing from an 18" 1 gallon plant that Sarahbushka gave him. He planted it in one of those desert-dry strips of clay soil that extends along the edge of the driveway, next to our fence and directly in line with the gate when it is open. Ha, it never gets opened all the way, as it is an RV drivewayand opens the backyard to the frontyard, and we don't have an RV, so this gate has become a perch and a catwalk in which one of our kitties uses to view her world.

Our Banks rose, perhaps a little too close up.

Under the Veil

We even have a hidden Rhododendron, the best one we have. Our others are not nearly as pretty as this one who stays hidden under her green chiador of sorts only allows herself to be seen once a year.

A Hebe and a weedOur Happy Hebe.

We love Hebes. They are such a uniques group of plants, and I believe that most people ignore them as though the were some itchy juniper or a nondescript arborvitae. But if one looks at them up close and personal, expecially some of the larger leaved varieties, they might see some really interesting plant growth, like say, perfectly aligned and alternating leaves that grow in a beautiful pattern. These hebes are golden green and have a pretty growth pattern, then once a year, we get surprised with gorgeous little white flowers. This only happens when they are very happy.

Our now well known red Japanese Maple freshly laden with seed pods.

There is always that "one" the crowd

Some of our Bearded Irises.

The "Stand Out" in our crowd It's always interesting to see which of our bearded Irises
will bloom. It seems that every year our Iris patch has a new and varied display.

We didn't see the white and gold violet mix this spring. Our red/violet/gold ones also were quite shy. Our bright yellows always flourish, but this gold one (above) was a nice surprise mingled in with our violets and white/violet mixes.

The Ripening

Korean Dogwood - done to Medium rare

My birthday present from Sarahbushka this year is a Korean Dogwood.
In May, when I received it, the flowers were just barely opened, and they were green with little stamens and pistals showing. Later, they became almost pure white, just before they started to tinge with a bit of pink.

blushing

Korean Dogwood- done to medium

ripe

Korean Dogwood, well-done

my favorite variety of Violas

Thanks for walking through my yard with me today.

They're Baaaack!

The bad news first: Those that read this blog might remember about 1 year ago, we noticed our Mugo Pines being attacked by European Sawfly larvae, which we found to be voracious consumers needle by needle (actually many needles simultaneously) until more than 1/2 of our beautiful pines were scarred. We found them by accident one day.

Luckily I had been shooting images of these same mugos only one week or so before, and they were not noticed at that time (nor any evidence in my images), however, at one point we started noticing how measley our pines were beginning to appear.

Once we actually looked at them closely, we realized that they were looking back at us, and they were all snapping their bodies at the same time (perhaps in an attempt to drive away a predator). So after researching them (This is how I originally met Deb (Garden Author)), we decided we had to eradicated them, right then and there.

Afterward, we notified our local Extension Service about our infestation (in addition to furnishing them with images). It was then, that I became aware of the extent of their damage and later, it got to the point where I started to notice other mugos in town that had been happily chomped upon. It was a learning experience, for me.

Well now, this year I have been noticing that our mugos have been setting their candles (now about 1" high) and I figured we would have to start inspecting them again. This very afternoon my husband came in with a long face and said "they're baaaack..."

So I grabbed my camera and went outside to see them.

Notice their formation at the dinner table.

A classic attack, note the yellow tan spots on the needles.

This is where the eggs were laid last Fall,

and the larvae can be seen with shiny black heads.

On the image below, note the white circled area, and just remember it, for the time being.

The good news: We caught them early, very early, quite possibly their very first day.

I shot images for you to see.

They ate well for their first (and last) meal.

This image and the image below shows the larvae having eaten a needle all the way to the base. Note how they work together ringing the circumference while consuming the needles.

Comraderie gets the job done.

Now for the white circles. Get your mojo hat on for this one, if need be. I did, because I found it a bit creepy (literally).

In the first image with a circle (above, image 2), note the little black spot within the circle. This item is another angle of view from the bottom circle below.

I am so glad I am as old as I am and need my reading glasses for everything, because if I were able to focus on this, I would have had the creepy crawlies all night.

In the images below and right, the circle has become 3 circles. These circles are showing the processing of hatching and eating through the pine needle, and emerging from the the edge of the needle. (top circle shows the head just below the surface, the needle split open, middle circle showing a slit either just opened or the larva just emerged. In the bottom circle the larvae's head is poking up, perhaps getting its first view of dinner.)

Here's looking at you!

They're gone now...
But we'll be keeping a vigilant watch over the remaining tan spots on those needles.

Taking a Moment ~ To Cross Promote

How can anyone say No to this?

Can you?

If this isn't the cutest thing I have ever seen. I almost want to go out and buy or even borrow a dog, just to have a chance for it to wear one of these "chic" cowls.

I found them at Tarja's shop at Etsy.com, named EmmaCharlesPhotoPlus and Tarja has a passion for art whether it be yarn art (as shown here) or digital art (which is also shown here) in her listing's picture. She has these cool, chic cowls in other colors, too.

So check out her shop, and I would like to take this moment to wish Tarja a big Happy Birthday on April 6th (coming up real soon now).

And Tarja, congrats for placement on the Etsy.com daily email:

"Etsy Finds: Fashionable in Fur"

That's "Fur," as in the fur of our fourlegged Pet's. It's a Pet Parade! Of all 9 items in this wonderful emailing, Tarja's cool neck cowl certainly was the schizzle!

Tarja and I have something in common, too. We both shoot with Nikon D60's. YaY!

The World Awakens

Sneaking Out For The Newspaper

Yesterday morning we took a quick drive to get a newspaper. You know the type of drive, its the one that happens in the early morning when you think everyone else is still at home asleep. It's when the sweat pants that are too short for the uneven tube socks and slip on turquoise mocs, are actually worn in public for just a few moments, because more than likely the chance of running into anyone I might know is at the lowest point. It is also the time of day when I am wearing the holey sweat shirt that should now be in the hamper; and my hair resembles plumage as opposed to bed head. Both of us, my daughter and I, were a sight hopefully not seen.

And yet, I completely forgot about cowering behind the wheel, watching for anyone that might look vaguely familiar, the moment I became acutely aware that things were changing outside the safety zone of 'my own little world' inside my car.

It was as I was driving down the street that I started to notice that there was more growing on some of the trees than the regular winter moss and green algae-type stuff that collects on the wet damp branches when the leaves are absent.

I was beginning to see whitish pink! All over.

Now, the daffs have been out for some time, as have those regular early bloomers that can fool us into thinking that winter is past, sometimes to be fooled themselves. I have learned that daffodils, snow bells, and crocus, just mean the Spring arrival is imminent, not that it has officially arrived.

But right on schedule, the plum blossoms were opening after days of rain and followed by a bit of sunshine.

It was a beautiful trip, and I never even noticed whether or not I was seen by anyone.

Who would have known that all of this was just right there, at the local Car Wash, just waiting to be seen by me and my car cam.

Another Volvo mini tour brought directly to you from the 5 min of sunshine we experienced yesterday.