Confession: I slept in this morning, slept until nearly 7:30, a full 40 minutes after sunrise. Although the sleep was wonderful and I have no idea why I needed it -- I am not complaining about sleep. Being able to sleep in occasionally, or take a nap, is one of the joys of retirement (or vacation).
But otherwise, Yuck. Although the temperature only read 74 when I went out for my morning walk, the air was thick with humidity and high fog and the air felt like it must be at least 80 or higher -- to high for 7:40 AM, in my humble, I-don't-really-love-hot-weather, opinion. Oh well. I am here, and life is, generally, good.
This week in the garden the daylilies are continuing to bloom, and the greenery is looking more vigorous too, as if they are finally settled in and comfy. The lily bulbs I planted are also doing well, despite my initial doubts. A couple are blooming now, and the others all have buds, so there will be more lily blooms in the future. This is particularly exciting as I never saw a lily blossom in my Hyde Park garden. Just-about-to-open lily buds were quite a delicacy to the resident deer population, and living next to a national historic site, it was a battle I never won, despite heavy investment in deer repellents of every known variety.
I have rabbits and foxes, and crows or ravens although I've never paid enough attention to tell which.
Again, I'm not complaining.
I did climb up the hill behind the house this morning to take a photo looking down at the house and the back yard. The large stones on the left side of the walk in the photo above were just uncovered yesterday, and although I am not as happy about the way that part of the walk looks, I continue to have hopes of getting it right. I think I will be sitting in the gravel shifting stones come cooler weather and fall.. There are also still plenty of areas to plant. The beds at the base of the hill stay pretty wet, so choosing plants for that area has been a little tricky, but I think I have a rough plan now. More on that later.
This is the hydrangea on the far right in the picture above, at the back of the house, I love the remnant of foxglove peeking out under the hydrangea blossoms. Another bit of excitement is that the Angel's Trumpet on the patio is about to bloom. You can (barely) see a small patch of yellow next to the house in the pile of greenery beyond the table and the tilted chairs. A little yellow beacon of promise. The thrill and excitement, the pure potential, the risk, the sheer audacity even, of gardening always makes me catch my breath with unbounded joy and anticipation. It is an anticipation tinged with a hint of fear, but anticipation nonetheless, and the uncertainty of it only serves to make the pleasure all the greater.
