Crop 2

We stuffed a couple of these Mariachis with beans and cheese--mmmmm. More heat than expected for this variety--not that we're complaining! They will eventually turn red.

Crop

The rain erased most of the plant tags, but we think these are Big Jims.

Sarah's tree

This little kousa dogwood is Sarah's tree (though they haven't been properly introduced yet). It's the beginning of a "family forest."
As you can see, the deer have been drinking out of the birdbath again :-)

How do you want them eggs, honey?

Ah, The Waffle House

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Four ferrets napping.

Tarot-ized

Be ashamed. Be very ashamed.

See the moonflowers?

Each bloom lasts only 12 hours, opening at dusk and closing in the morning. They're about 6 inches across and are extremely fragrant.

Pie!

Pre-pie peaches

Mmmm pie. (Okay, my pastry art is a little wrong!)

Little visitors

We saw these fawns yesterday evening en famille. There were two bucks, two does, and another fawn. The little ones were chasing one another and having a great time. They were down by the river, so photographs weren't possible.

It was a surprise to see them this morning, especially without their mother. She may have been close by, but I didn't see her.

No coffee for me, thanks

I'm switching back to tea again. No particular reason. Tea tastes better, and I like the little ritual of making it.

Zooming north through Florida

Live oaks and lazing cattle in the Florida countryside near Williston.

July 19th says goodnight

In Florida, we often stay at a little place called the Sea Rocket. Perfect sand, perfect water, good shell hunting. And nice sunsets!

Look, look! said Dick

Dick and Jean are my in-laws. Dick and Jean have a large pond. Many creatures live in the pond. There are turtles and fish. Many birds call the pond home, too. This is Paul. Paul is a wood stork. He is very large. Paul likes hot dogs. Dick and Jean don't give him hot dogs. He stares at them. He poops on their sidewalk.

Paul has cool feet.

See the moon? Sorta?

The camera was in the trunk in the suitcase for the entire drive to Florida. This extremely unsteady photo of the moon was my only photographic effort for the day. I sort of like the wobbly effect!

Little brown snake

This is the second time we've found this tiny snake in the pool. She's only about 7 inches long now, but we've seen adults in the river that measured several feet. We'd rather she didn't start calling the pool home, so I coaxed her into a cup and released her in the river where she went her snakely way.

The chile patch

We hoped that the deer wouldn't be fond of chiles and we were right! We've got quite a crop and the weather has been really cooperative--lots of rain and lots of sun. I think we started 11 different varieties, but only 8 survived long enough to make it into this patch. Next year--lots more, lots earlier!

Gettin skinky with it

We've had a hatching of five-lined skinks! This guy is about 1-1/2 inches long. They're very fast, but a warm day makes the youngsters languid (and photogenic!) The bright blue tail serves to attract predators to the "wrong" end. The color gradually fades as they mature.

Georgia peaches!

We had our pick of places to buy them, but these people had peach ice cream, too!

Jesus says: Eat a peach

But good unbelievers that we are, we only bought some preserves.

Survivor

I didn't expect this hibiscus to make it through the winter, but it's obviously thriving. The flowers are as big as my face (and I have pollen on my nose to prove it)!

Removing wallpaper is tedious..

..especially layers of it that have been painted over!

Today in the backyard

This little buck and his sister have been visiting since they were fawns. He still has the velvet on his antlers.