How Does Your Garden Grow?

The Little Red Squirrel came for a visit and a snack. The kitties were excited to see him.

Storm clouds moving in

The daylilies are blooming

The hydrangea is making an amazing comeback. When it blooms it will make a magnificent show.

The other day, the town decided to chip seal the street. It's a thin layer of heated asphalt covered with small aggregate (chips) and then compacted. It takes a few days to cure. Meanwhile, it's dusty as all get out when cars and trucks roar by.

No one seems to be paying attention to the 15 mph. speed signs tacked up on the telephone poles. I guess the speed signs are more of a suggestion. 

This stuff is really awful with chips flying up and whacking your car. It feels shaky to drive on, too. I remember this method was done on the street Himself and I grew up on. He fell off his bike and cut his knee. No one knew that a tiny chip had embedded itself deep in the cut and then got infected.

This sunflower is almost as tall as I am!

Milkweed flowers

Tiny peppers

A Gerbera daisy?

Morning glories and some thing is feasting on the leaves

Himself weeded the bed under the Japanese maple and put more soil down. The tree roots were so hard and thick, it was hard to plant things under the tree. 

Zinnias

Looks like Himself tree is having problems. It hasn't leafed out the way it should have, and I saw tiny bore holes along the truck. A search for bore holes in ash trees brought up an article about an invasive pest known as an Emerald Ash Borer. Looks like I'll be calling the arborist to see if there's anything that can be done to save the tree plus the other ash trees in the woods.

How does your garden grow?

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

One of the places we visited during our stay in Ogunquit, was a fun, weird, tourist spot called The Desert of Maine in Freeport. This video gives an overview of the history of the place.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. The weather cleared, and we walked to Ogunquit Beach. We walked along the beach, sat and talked until the tide coming in made us move. We then walked to town and had a margherita pizza at La Pizzeria. We ate outside. We stopped at the Village Store for Whoopie Pies before going back to the motel.

2.  The trip home started with breakfast at the Egg and I in Wells, Maine. Then we stopped for a walk around Mount Agamenticus in Monadnock, Maine. Then we stopped in Salem, New Hampshire to see America's Stonehenge. We had a late lunch at an old-fashioned '50s style diner,  Mary Ann's Diner. I had a BLT and an awesome fudge sundae

3. I hadn't heard from the Young One in nearly 2 weeks. Not even a Father's Day greeting for Himself. I sent her a text, FB message, and email asking if I needed to call the police to do a wellness check. I was relieved to hear back from her.  Saying I'd call the police (and I would, too) worked with the Eldest and now works with the Young One.

4. A client picked up a commission I had lettered for them. They were very pleased.

5. The ice cube maker stopped working. We watched some YouTube videos. Turning the freezer down 2 degrees and using a hair dryer, unblocked the mechanism and ice fell out. Back in business, boys and girls!

How was your week?

The Summer Solstice from America's Stonehenge

 

Image from America's Stonehenge Facebook Page

Did you know that America has its own Stonehenge? Neither did I until Teague and I were on our way home from Ogunquit. She stopped in Salem, New Hampshire where we roamed the forest and saw man-made rock walls and stone structures. 

From the America's Stonehenge site:  "A maze of man-made stone chambers, stone walls, and standing stones that align with the sun on the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days. At over 4,000 years old, America's Stonehenge most likely the oldest man-made construction in the United States."

Happy Summer Solstice!

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm going through my pictures from the trip to Ogunquit, Maine to get blog posts ready for the week. This was the view from our balcony at the hotel.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Time To Kill

The first real landmark of the ride up to Ogunquit. The Piscataqua River Bridge which connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Kittery, Maine. Ogunquit is only 20 or so minutes away, if the hotel would let us check-in early. They won't so we have some time to kill.

We stopped at a comfort station on the Maine Turnpike to get some brochures, and I decided to play tourist. 

We decided to stop for lunch at the Sun and Surf Restaurant on Long Sands Beach in York, Maine. Same place where we had lunch last year. We had the same lunch, too. Haddock bites with fries, and we had a cup of clam chowder (it's pronounced chow-dah). I had an unsweetened iced tea with lemon for my beverage. I think Teague had a Sprite (lemon-lime soda)

After lunch, the traditional stop at Sohier Park to walk around to take pictures especially 

of Nubble Light. The seeing the lighthouse never gets old.

We arrived in Ogunquit, but still had about an hour and a half to wait before we could check in. We decided to drive to the Marginal Way. Teague said she always seems to have luck with getting a parking space on Stearns Road steps from Lobster Point Lighthouse Her luck held and she got the same spot she always seems to get.

So we walked a little ways along the Marginal Way and sat and chatted until

the fog started to roll in.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Wiper Cat Decal

 

Himself finally attached my Christmas gift to the back car window. Can you see it? It's a cat and when the wiper is on, the cat wags its tail. Cute?