Tuesday.

 Tuesday all day.  And it started later than usual.  For now, I'm doing better with sleeping.  What a gift.  Egg and coffee for breakfast.  Doug has the coffee maker set for brewing at 8 and this morning I didn't need to push the earlier than 8 coffee button.  

                                Lantana doing their best.  This is the work horse of the garden. 

My phone told me that we might have rain at 8:30.  Woo...really?  The patio looked a reck again with seed hulls and bird poop.  The blower came out and I thought the impending rain if it really got here would take care of the rest.  We were on the edge of that rain map.  That changed and we had about an hr. of light rain.  Woo that was one watering job I could scratch off for sure.  

                                                                            To the garage.

By pure chance yesterday morning I spotted the female Oriole on the oriole feeder. Chances are good enough for me.  She's close by and I'm happy to say it seems that the B. Birds have enough to do getting ready for their coming family.  I decided to put away for a while the sunflower seed feeders.  It's summer and the sparrows just will need to work a little harder for their meals. 

This morning the suet feeder was a bit sparce with the piliated woodpecker not so happy.  I fixed that immediately. The peanut feeder is nuthatch heaven with other feathered friends discovering that as well. Most cannot hang on the feeder as long as the nuthatch.  The hummingbirds are still at their feeders with the oriole feeder close by. And before I could leave the patio, the downy arrived ready to hit the suet.  Birds are still entertaining.

                                     Big C saying to little C, "You'll look like me soon".

There was a little TV time and then I was curious as to how deep the rain had sunk into the ground.  And that proved to be something positive.  The rain was deep and that turned on the thinking part of the brain to check on everything walking the garden with my rake, then the shovel, then the clippers and then the garden wheel barrel.  There was work to do, plants to rescue hidden behind way to tall milkweed.  

Can you spot the cosmos in the middle.  There is milkweed in the front and right side.  A hibiscus to the left and some black-eyed Susan's behind the cosmos.  And hidden in all of that are two State Fair zinnias.  Not far away are a few four o'clock plants and then another grouping of zinnias.  Oh, yes there are three tomato plants behind all of what you see.  So, a few things got moved!  NO CATTERPILARS YET! 

Until this year this bed was solid black-eyed Susans.  Not  anymore.  They are gone and this bed now has flowers from seed, snapdragons from Ace, Daliah from Kathy, lupin from Judy, Becky's from Rosies and many volunteer trans plants.   I'm excited to see what happens when it's all blooming. 

Plants starts little and now it's the way to big season.  And yes, a few plants were moved to sunny places.  The temperature was perfect for moving and with a hole full of water there were not too many root complaints. It was wonderful to once again be in the garden making changes and working to make the garden a little better.  A late afternoon garden check determined that the transplants were in great shape none the worse for their change of location.  

A great combination of color with a soon to be bigger Cleome taking their place when they have finished blooming. There is a volunteer hibiscus on the right side. 

Now for a whatever will be will be lessen.  Each year we have lawn service.  It's fertilizing and some weed control applications. You maybe remember me talking about this last year.  It's the same story every year.  I talk about drift of product.  He talks about hand spraying around the garden.  This year we had the same conversation.  I planted flowers in containers this year with protection from spray.  About a week ago I began to see evidence on the zinnias that told me spray.  Yes...after planting in the garden there must have been a spray.  The zinnias in one bed stopped growing and the leaves tell the rest of the story.  The upper right is a healthy zinnia.  The leaves in the lower left indicate a sick zinnia.  The trimming today I think will help the sick plants with a delayed blooming coming.  Not all have been hit but just some.  These are the Benary Giants zinnias that I've been wanting for some time.  Last year I KILLED them all planting them way to early directly into the ground.  They rotted.  Gardeners sometimes just don't get it right. 

               The color and shape show sickness. Thank goodness the spray didn't get to all of them.

I need to add that our lawn has looked wonderful this year.  No creeping charley, dandelions, crab grass etc. That was not the case last year.  Charley just took over.  Our neighbors are celebrating with us this year.  

                                            My faithful helper.  A wonderful Goodwill find.  

It's been a day that I call a gift.  Temperatures have moderated, the rain has come, and the day has been productive.  The sewing machine had no time to be turned on but that means there is something to look forward to.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  And as we remember hearing on one of our favorite TV shows of many years passed...AND THAT'S THE TRUTH!  Words from Elizabeth Ann if I remember correctly.  OOPS!  Dee has it right...Edith Ann.