No hammering. No sawing. Quiet and peaceful and just under 100° today. I woke early and turned on the air conditioning... only to turn it off again one minute later. I couldn't stand to cool this big old house for only two people. We have many ceiling fans. Save the planet.
We were out filling our bird baths several times today with cool water for our many feathered friends. During one of the fill-ups, I brought my camera along to capture a few things I found interesting around the house.
Oregon Grape
Oregon Grape: the State Flower of Oregon. The plant has striking yellow flowers in the spring, which turn to these pretty berries, which look very similar to grapes. The plant has many medicinal uses, but no one (I know) eats any part of the bitter plant. This plant is very common on our property.
Unfortunately, this species (squirrelus painintheasstus) is also very common on our property. You all know how much I love the critters... but I couldn't help wishing I was looking at this rat with a fluffy tail squirrel through the sight of a gun instead of a telephoto lens.
One of our roommates
I watched this guy for a quite a while and he didn't seem too concerned that I was so close. Probably because he recognizes me because I think he was born in our attic. Also, I think he was playing. Yes. Playing. He was running around this little wild hazelnut bush, jumping from limb to limb. There is nothing to eat (yet) on this tree. He was just practicing climbing and jumping from limb to limb. His Mom was a few feet away, burying all sorts of stuff over our septic drain field (yummy!). His Mom needs her tubes tied.
On to pretty stuff:
Queen Ann Lace in the field
And the hydrangea's are still gorgeous
I made dinner before 9 o'clock this morning. Knowing it was going to be another scorcher, I whipped up a batch of My Gazpacho and let it chill/marinate all day in the fridge. Gazpacho is your answer for super-hot days... plus my (vegan/vegetarian) recipe serves six and is only 118 calories per serving! I followed the recipe, except since it is "the season", I used Walla Walla Sweet Onions instead of yellow onion. Delicious.
Delicious. Nutritious.
And so we enjoyed another lovely meal in our new tree house. Here are a few more photos of all the stuff sprouting from the farmer's market bouquet.
What is this? Stem looks like a thistle to me.
Not a clue, yet very pretty.
Until my next update, I remain, your cool-as-a-cucumber correspondent.