Summer Sustenance

I have been gardening, fending off the Magpies who like to steal the portulaca from the planters as well as the shiny river stones from the bird bath. I awoke yesterday morning to a pair of swallows procreating on the fir tree outside the dining room window.

Exciting news … my first ever homegrown hollyhock bloomed yesterday! Since being introduced to hollyhocks via Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings, I have admired and photographed them in a variety of locations. Finally I have my own, this one is a double apricot, I think.

Biennials are rumored to have minds of their own. Blooms may only appear every two years-or not. I suppose the climate will have the final say, so I may have to wait and see. If anyone one has suggestions on how to keep this blooming-please share!

We have been in the throes of a sweltering heat wave in the west. The hypnotic drone of dog days melding together under the summer heat. We have had a day’s grace of about 25C then back to the thirties.

Thundershowers predicted for tonight came today and produced some amazing cloud effects. If you look closely, you can see a plane flying into this one.

The other evening, in the neighbour’s yard a charm of about twenty five magpies, could be seen loudly jeering at the cats who were strolling the neighbour’s fence. The sound was deafening and they had to be shooed off one by one. I don’t want to encourage the magpies to hang out here, as they raid the nests of the smaller birds who live in my birdhouses. Cats didn’t seem too bothered by this mockery or were at least too proud to show it.