IT'S BEEN A VERY GOOD SUMMER

Despite a very busy summer, it has been a very good summer. The gardens have been very productive with the frequent rain, the haying season has been going well despite breakdowns in machinery, the hay barns are getting filled and farmers are picking large bales of hay from the fields by the transport loads.

I apologize for not being a good blogger but by the time I come in, I'm usually too tired to post. I sit at the computer, check my emails, watch a few podcasts and play a few games of Freecell and go to bed. I have had several people contacted me, worrying about me because I haven't blogged lately. Thank you for caring. Sometimes, I need to be reminded that people read my blog. That's a good enough reason to keep on blogging.

I took some photos of my flowers. I hope they don't bore you. Growing flowers is one of my passions.

These giant lilies are called Satisfaction, this is their second year. I wasn't sure they would survive the long period of being underwater during the flood.

My old Jackmanni clematis never fails to put on a show in August. The trellis was lift off the track up top during the flood and floated away by the shed. I just propped it up against the building and the Clematis gingerly started to grow to the top, keeping the trellis in place, even in the big wind we had.

A view from the shed where there used to be tones of soil this spring.

I can't remember the name of these giant lilies but the name is on a label in the garden. It's dark outside so it will have to wait.

My patch of hosta hiding a large decaying tree stump. I have some Marigold growing in the center but from this angle, you can't see.

A washed-out photo of my daylilies.  Taking photos in full sun is always disappointing.

A serendipity petunia that popped up between the patio blocks. I have several others growing between the patio blocks and they blooming without special care. They grew from seeds that fell in the cracks last year. I had two large pots of Cherry Ice petunias.

More serendipity Lobellias growing in the rocks.  This is just a small one. I have several that came up from last year. It has more blossoms now.

Some more lilies, Lavatera and Geraniums.

More Daylilies, red Salvias, and Allissums.

English cucumbers making use of a bare spot in the Daylily bed.  They are so delicious and tender.

Another view from near the gazebo.
It's getting late so I'll continue showing you what I've been up to in another post. I'm so behind... Remember, if you are a follower and you leave a comment, I will surely leave a comment on your blog. I don't spend a lot of time on the computer these days.

Stay safe and enjoy the rest of the summer.
Hugs, Julia

WHAT'S IN MY CAMERA THIS WEEK

Too many photos in my camera this week to show them all but this blog is my way of documenting what's happening so I'll just do my best. That's what happens when I only blog once in a while. I don't know where to begin.

I sneaked up on three of my grandkids while they were admiring a big baby eagle flying out of sight while they were weeding. The baby eagle is full grown and was too quick for me to get a shot .

Early Friday morning, around 8:00 am  three of my grandkids were dropped off at my place to weed their mom's garden behind my hedge and one stayed home to clean the kitchen counter and after he finished his work, he biked  from up town to our place for lunch. They are such good kids.

I made a huge pot of spaghetti as we were 7 for lunch. Here they are enjoying their ice cream desert.
The men went for a little nap in the lazy-boy chairs  before returning to work and are not in this photo.

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PLEASE READ ON ABOUT THIS SPECIAL WEED. You may have encountered some before and didn't know what they were good for.  It's a medicinal plant that can save you from a lot of suffering. It's called Jewelweed.
If you ever come into contact with Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, or Poison Sumac, you cut a piece of the stem and split it open and rub the sap on the area that came in contact with the poison plant and the Jewelweed sap neutralizes the effect of the poison.

I was cutting small branches by the edge of the riverbank and I must have come into contact with some offensive leaves below my throat as I was wearing a V-neck shirt. I developed an itchy rash and I was itchy for three days.  I remembered the Jewelweed and I rub some on the itch and it soothed the skin and the itch and redness was gone just like that.

They grow in the shade and damp places. They have a yellow-orange little flower when in bloom and I just picked this one in my shade garden. They spread quickly by seed. The plants are just starting to come to blossom now so the seedpod has not formed yet but you can google it to see what it looks like. Kids love to surprise their friends my making them touch the mature seedpod which explode on contact.

This is what the little flower looks like. There are two types of Jewelweeds but the one with orange flowers are the one that counteract the poison.

They are really easy to pull because they have very shallow roots. They do look flimsy and watery when small but the mature stems are fibrous.

This is a piece of the stem that I broke off and split open. I hope that you enjoyed this little tutorial on Jewelweed.

Meanwhile in my gardens, my pink Grootendorst rose bush is blooming  in this heat.

and  Jackmanii clematis is starting to bloom and has tons of buds yet to open.

Last evening after supper I tackled my very dirty deck with my new pressure washer and it was quite a job as I had to remove a year or maybe two 's worth of mildew accumulation. I had quite a job of cleaning every bars on the rails. I had to stretch over the edge with the spray gun with water flying everywhere. It needs painting but that's another job for another day. I would have to bleach the wood and rinse it well before painting to kill the mildew. (too busy and too wet to take pictures)

My long daylilly bed has surprised me with blooms. I never thought that any would bloom this year because I planted them just before the heavy frost and the winter came early.  Some died because of the freeze and thaws this past winter. I'll have some pictures another time.

Stay cool, safe  and hydrated. Thanks for your visit and  I do appreciate your comments.

JB