I suppose I'll ramble.
For starters, my desktop Picassa editing program is no longer syncing to the new online Google albums.
Grrrrr.
So I've spent the last two days trying to figure out how to either edit photos in Google+ Photos, or manually upload photos edited in Picassa (which I love).
The editing program in Google+, so far, sucks, so I think I'll end up doing the latter, which means more steps, aka, more time.
Did I mention, grrrrr?
Second, a few days after we got home from Klamath Falls, we lost our kitty.
He seemed fine the first night, but then just stopped eating.
The next day, he just didn't seem right and I knew he was done.
I made him a bed in a box, out in the laundry room where he had been hunkering down on a pile of dirty towels, and he didn't move from there all day.
He had declined rapidly by evening.
I brought him to our room when we went to bed, so he wouldn't be alone.
He didn't make it through the night.
It was awful and it still sucks.
He was fifteen, and after all the things that boy went through, I thought for sure he'd live to 100.
We buried him in his favorite hiding spot in the backyard.
Next up in the sharing department, The Dad and I were watching The Revenant on the couch after the kids went to bed Sunday night.
There was a huge crash, he went running over to the dining room to see what had happened, and realized he was walking through glass.
I hit the floor, not knowing what was happening, then scurried to the back of the house for protection and in preparation to grab the kids.
Turned out, someone had thrown a big ass rock through our front window.
The police took forever to show up, so our neighbor followed the group in his car.
It's a long story, but nothing was done and now we have a lovely $500 insurance deductible to deal with.
Plus, the window is the biggest one in the house, and special order, so we'll be lookin' at a plywood view for a solid three weeks.
Awesome.
I feel like it has been raining for days on end, but it was nice to get a break from watering.
But it also means I haven't done a dang thing out there in the work department.
Plus, this is the time of year when I'm ready to yank everything and start over.
The things that didn't go the way I had planned are staring me in the face, the things that did do well, I'm ready to do more of.
It's just that time of year for me.
Anywho, my camera is officially back home, so I went out back yesterday after a downpour, and snapped some pics.
My sister brought me this Dahlia from Amsterdam.
It took awhile for it to get goin', 'cause I couldn't keep the dang slugs off it, but once I won the battle, it took off and is now bloomin' its little heart out.
A plant that is NOT blooming its heart out is my Brugmansia.
Damn thing.
It has popped out several buds, but they just shrivel up and fall off before they mature.
I have no clue why - it's three years old and has never done that.
A few other shots on, and around, the deck.
The fire pit area.
A couple different views from the fire pit.
From the other direction.
Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' is still full speed ahead and my hummer loves it.
Does anyone know which Verbena this is?
I've had it for yeeeeaaarrrrs, but I can't remember where it originally came from.
It reseeds quite a bit, has stiff stems like bonariensis, but it's shorter and floppier.
Trouble with a sweet face.
It's crazy, the Hydrangeas are still spittin' out new flowers.
Rudbeckia and Japanese Anemone, still goin' strong.
I love the pods on the Crocosmia.
From the opposite side of the bed.
Limey green Four O'Clocks, with hot pink flowers, that I started from seed.
Speaking of limey green, I'm pretty sure this Himalayan Honeysuckle wants to take over the world.
Or, at least my pathway.
A volunteer Cleome.
A very happy Coleus.
The south side is just, meh, this year.
I don't know what I want to do, but something different.
The Scarlet Runner Beans are certainly happy over there, though.
My attempt at an Impatiens tower worked.
A darker pink Japanese Anemone, blooming in the shade even.
Cuphea and Sweet Potato Vine heaven.
And last, my favorite spot in the yard right now.
Which is odd, considering I've never loved orange or red flowers.
Must be all the limey green that's sellin' it for me.
The late blooming Toad Lily is showin' off down in this area, too.
And there you have it.
A life and garden update.
Off to pull zucchini bread out of the oven.....
