Cute stuff is always first, let's look at a couple kitters. Here's Bunny and one of her Hoppers, baby Trudy. Trudy's face is a killer; there's literally just about nothing cuter in the whole world. When I pick up Trudy, I slather that face in about ten kisses. Cannot help myself. She's not a lap kitty, though. She prefers to either cuddle with her mama or to lay near you but not necessarily on your lap. Bunny, however, loves a lap. Bunny thinks she's a dog. She has very dog-like behavior and is sooooooo sweet. I don't think Bunny has ever forgotten that she's been rescued and loved. She has the nicest spirit of gratefulness about her, and she's truly happy.
Then, there's this guy, baby Oscar (I know, I know - he's huge; but he's my baby). Oscar was in our first round of rescue babies and had the world's cutest and tiniest little squeak for a meow. It just melted me every time I heard it. Oscar adores doggies. He loves my Lacey-dog, and when he sees her, he makes a beeline for her in the house. Oscar is perfectly made - he is symmetrical in every way. His stripes are perfectly lined up and mirrored on each side. I've never seen a tabby more perfectly put together than this guy. He's freakin' handsome. Sometimes - not often, but sometimes - I crawl into the bed with him just for the cuddles and to hear his deep, lovely purr. He's a very good boy.
Look at this patch of flowers and veg. It's July, y'all. At this point in the garden game, you can't keep up. It is what it is - lush, plush and wild and woolly. Doesn't meant that it's not gorgeous, though, because it is! Also, some things that look a mess (the herb garden comes to mind) are that way because we build it up at the beginning of the growing season, then we pretty much turn it loose. The herb garden is not for us, although all herbs that we grow are edible and anyone is welcome to eat them! However, the main purpose of the bed is to assist the monarchs and bees. Once they re-discover it and take over, we don't overly-disturb the bed. The pollinators will use that bed up until the first hard freeze of the year. I need to share a picture of the herb bed. You'll feel quite good about the tidiness of your garden and borders once you see it!
And here is a picture of my California giant zinnias! I take bouquets to my office in the summer so that I can enjoy them at work, too. Aren't they gorgeous?! I've grown these for a couple decades now, I believe, and I never ever tire of them. They are a wonderful cutting flower, plus the pollinators love them. No scent, either, so they don't interfere with anything or cause headaches or allergy flare-ups. They're nearly the perfect flower and come in multiple sizes. The heads come in varying shapes and forms, as well. I prefer these huge ones, but I love all of the different sizes and colors. You really cannot go wrong with zinnias.
My birthday hydrangea is flourishing! First time EVER that we've had any luck with hydrangeas. This is a dwarf limelight hydrangea. Here's the deal with these. The summer blooms are the light green that you see in the picture. In the autumn, they will turn pink without any change to the soil. That is truly fascinating. I bought this with a gift card to a local greenhouse that was given to me for my birthday this past May. The idea of the blooms lasting all summer then still blooming in the fall but turning pink?? Yep. That was going home with me. My husband actually noticed the plant at the greenhouse, and I'm so glad he did. I check on it every day, and so far, it loves where it's planted. Fingers crossed it thrives for years and years. P.S. - these like shade and just a bit of sun. It does matter where they are planted.
So, it's hawt. Not hot. HAWT. When it's this warm, it gets a different spelling. We go to 90 degrees today. Betting we get a pop-up thunderstorm! Storms are forecasted pretty much all day Saturday, then Sunday is only 79 with more storms. Same song and dance, to cool off a bit, you gotta put up with some yucky stuff first. Not going to complain too much, though. It's not been horribly hot yet this year, so if the heat sets in for a bit, so be it. It is summer, after all.
The pumpkin patch. What can I say? It was planted later than usual this year in the hopes that the pumpkins don't ripen until mid-October. This way, we have them for Halloween and Thanksgiving. In the past, they ripened by mid-September, but in the South, that's still a warm month. They often rotted before Thanksgiving rolled around.
I do not decorate with Christmas stuff for Thanksgiving. I keep Thanksgiving as it is - an Autumn holiday with Autumn decoration and foods. Christmas does not make it's debut until either the day after Thanksgiving or the first week of December, depending on the craziness of my schedule. I'll get a picture of the patch and share, along with our herb garden, for the next post. It's still a bit of a jolt to look down towards the pumpkin patch and not already be seeing long vines with buds already. I suspect it'll be another two weeks before we see that, though. Gardens are experiments in progress, always.
It's Friday, and I couldn't be more grateful! With a rainy weekend ahead, I've got to re-think our food. Don't laugh, it is what it is, this crazy food focus that I have. I really want some fried green tomatoes, but I don't want the effort that goes along with it, ha ha. Luckily, I DO have two of Peggy Ann's apple fritters in our freezer, so I think that one of those, along with a cheese omelet, would be really good for breakfast this morning. It's Friday, so I think celebrating with a fritter could become a real thing. For instance, "Y'all! It's Fritter Friday!" sounds an awful lot like a t-shirt slogan to me. Just sayin'.
It's time to really focus on the scary movie/popcorn summer thing and onion rings, tater tots and summer drinks. I hope you have something to look forward to, as well. Wherever you are, whatever your plans, I hope your Friday is good to you and your weekend is even better.
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