Thursday

 Another good start to the day with a morning in the garden.  The temperature was wonderful and being with so many colorful flowers was a pleasure.  Yes, the garden is starting to bloom in more than one place with just a few spots where color is gone until next year.  

                A little difficult to see the two leaves with two distinctively different shades of green.

Some day lilies received their yearly trim that will bring new growth and perhaps a flower or two  before frost.  Most of the Holly Hocks have entered their ugly stage with tall leaning stems and few flowers only at the top. Their once upon a time beautiful leaves now are eaten full of holes which is the usual after blooming.  Cutting must come later allowing the seeds to dry on the stalk. There was other dead heading that keep new buds coming and there was a major effort to water everything that was near the house.  There is a chance of rain soon according to the iPhone weather report but that news can prove to be undependable this time of year.  There were two garden carts that made contributions to the B Blues.  So the efforts to keep the garden going filled the morning hours. Its a beautiful place to spend a morning.

I chased down an I U Pharmacy number allowing a return call that permitted me to order another month of  cancer medication.  And there was the usual long nap after lunch.  It reminded me of what happens to babies.  Fill their tummies and they are off to la la land for a while.  

At least 20 years ago I planted this then tiny hydrangea purchased at a grocery store.  It took a long time to decide to produce one flower, doing that for years.  Not so this year.  The spring was very wet and look.  One flower is blue and one pink on the same plant.  I have never fertilized this plant letting it do  it's own thing ever year.  Last years the one flower was sort of a mix of color. There are more flowers on the way.  More surprises are coming. 

The afternoon was pretty simple.  I checked on the garden I ignored in the morning.  Another cucumber made it to the refrigerator.  The tomatoes look wonderful but ripening is slower than I had imagined.  Some S F zinnias filled another vase decorating the kitchen table.  The squirrels were fairly quiet since the food source was a little sparce.

The phone call came for an Endoscopy which is scheduled for July 15th at 9:30.  Woo.  The latest appointments are all zipped up for now.  I'm not a very good waiter but when I must wait with no other choice, I have no option.  Procedures need to fit into schedules. And the Endoscopy is scheduled. We're moving along to find out what other secrets may be hiding in this body.  I suspect there will be no ulcer.

4:00 will see another soccer game coming our way.  France and Morocco.  It's been pretty quiet since many teams have been sent home.  I suspect it will finally come down to a France verses Brazil event.  But I could be 100 % wrong. I plan to spend half time eating supper. 

                                A mid-summer fill in I think reverting to white.  Phlox 
 

Another good day with decisions made in the garden and elsewhere.  Life moves on.  Tomorrow I'm heading to Grand Rapids, Mi to visit the Meijer's Gardens with three other great church friends of many years.  My cousin and I made the same trip perhaps 15 or so years ago.  Many changes have happened and it should be one really exciting day revisiting the old and seeing the new.  The company will be stupendous. I'm excited.  Will there be a blog entry.  Maybe if I arrive home early enough.