A Good Day

I don't like to sweat.  I am not pretty when I sweat unlike those glistening bodies with those abs that shine with moisture creating an ad worthy scene.  Mine, not so much.  The sweat runs down my forehead, lands in my eyes, creating tears to run, oh definitely not a pretty site.  Any mascara that may be left on the eyelashes is now running down the cheeks, along with the drips from the sweat.  Can't say the smell is good either.  While working in the yard in this getting hotter and muggier typical Chicago weather, sweat comes, like it or not.  

But toil and sweat is a must if I want the garden to stay purty....Ok, enough info about the sweat, I have since come in the house, turned on the AC and taken a shower.  Much better now. But let me show you what a little sweat did today....

Toby, stays with me thru sweat and all.  See the pretty pink hydrangeas...I love 'em.  These are Endless Summer that are pink here but if you live elsewhere and your soil is different they may be blue.  I love blue, but unless I added stuff to the soil they will remain pink.  

The daylilies are blooming in all colors....hmmm, no wonder I have holes in so many of my flowers, look at that critter underneath the petals...paused to chomp.

The Incrediball Hydrangea is filled with blossoms that are working toward that basketball size.  I snipped one for demonstration purposes only (hee hee) and you can see the size....that is a tall mason jar and it overwhelms it.

I bought this large planter a couple of years ago and it has sat in my garage ever since...but this year I dragged it out and put it in the backyard next to the fence and added some coleus, ivy, a small hosta and oh darn, I forgot the name of that pretty little leaf plant..!!!  It sure brightens up the almost fully shaded spot.

Whoop whoop Becky is coming...Becky Daisy that is. She is so pretty.

Earlier in the summer my "garden" guy transplanted several Black Eyed Susans to a spot that apparently was the perfect lunchroom for the bunnies to dine.  They ate those plants literally down to the ground, with only a few stalks remaining.  Soooo, yesterday when I was at the French Market I bought some gorgeous Coral Bells...  I dug up the poor stalks, transplanted them to a different area of the garden and planted these beauties in their place.  I am just hoping the bunnies don't think this is dessert.

The Monarda (Bee Balm) is also about to burst.  I totally love this flower, What's not to like, it is gorgeous from beginning to end, attracts, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, and doubles in size in less than 2 years.

OK, so now I am all clean and it's time to deliver the  pictures that I took last weekend of my friend Ruth's family.  I package them up sweetly onto a CD, slipped into a CD holder that I have added my business card and some washi tape.  Just adds a little pizzazz to an otherwise plain cover

They were delighted with the pictures, which ofcourse thrills me.

While there Molly, the next door neighbor's dog wanders out to their backyard and I feel the need to take Molly's picture because of her stinkin' cute ears.  Molly is camera shy, darn it, but I managed to grab a couple of shots....Look at those ears....can you just not love her!!  Molly is getting old, so she is limping a little (sorta like me at times).

And here is Peanut, Ruth & Tom's dog...so cute!!

Ruth's garden was brimming with these lovely hisbiscus...

And she insisted I stay for dinner (hmm, I think I wiggled an invitation by suggesting we go out and grab something to eat).  You see, Ruth is a cook, a chef I should say and everything that comes out of her kitchen is a masterpiece.  She whipped up these tequila, lime chicken tenders with guacamole on top, some fresh pineapple & mango with cottage cheese, some leftover rice and veggies, a little triple berry pie for dessert and voila I came home stuffed.

A good day!!

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."   ~Hugh Downs

Until next time....