Hello Hottie

Happy Tuesday! After surviving a brutally hot and humid weekend, we are loving this cooler mid-70’s weather. Hallelujah!

We had some early morning excitement over the weekend. Our emergency alert messaging rocketed us out of bed at 3:15 AM Saturday. Not exactly a pleasant wake-up call. I will admit, I probably would have rolled right back over and fallen back to sleep if Ben hadn’t turned on the lights and yanked me out of bed. We slugged down into the basement, wrapped ourselves in the biggest blankets we had (it’s FREEZING in our basement), and tuned into 30 minutes of TV storm coverage. Apparently there was a tornado warning because Doppler radar spotted “rotation”. I couldn’t hear any wind or even significant rain from the basement so we just huddled down and then went back on up after the coast was clear. The result? One tiny branch in the front of the yard. Better to be safe than sorry I guess!

A quick look around the yard…

This is one of those plants where I learned how to treat it through trial and error. It grows like a WEED every year but only if I cut it way, way back in the Fall. I always worry it won’t come back but it always does. I love the pretty red blooms. It reminds me of Christmas. 🙂

Last year I put this white-flowered tree on my “rip out and replace” list. I couldn’t exactly remember why. the rabbits leave it alone and it’s a nice size for filling in the back corner of the house line. But then I walked past it over the weekend and remembered. This thing, whatever it is, smells absolutely vile. The flowers aren’t especially pretty either and for whatever reason, this year it’s attracted swarms of Japanese beetles for the first time. You walk by and can see them all huddled on the flowers in large clumps. It’s nasty. This thing has got to go!!

Another big project waiting for me is my raspberry patch. I hacked everything way back in order to, hopefully, eliminate blight. I also think these guys are way too crowded. I had every intention of thinning them out when they were small and pliable, but now it looks like I’ll need my heavy-duty gloves and a long shirt to tackle this project. Not a great one for my back, but I think if I do it in small chunks I can manage it.

Between the shrubs we’ve removed, the garden that’s needing almost constant weeding, and these berry plants – my back is woeful. lol Lots of Ibuprofen and short durations!!

One final look at my peony. Beautiful but hitting the end of the season. I’ll miss these vibrant gems in the back yard. Need to plant more! (that are rabbit AND Japanese beetle resistant) Time to surround my entire yard in glass so nothing bad gets in, right?? Ha Ha

Enjoy this absolutely gorgeous weather! The whole week looks pretty fabulous in my book. Hurray!!