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Interspecies dining.
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It’s a thing.
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Enough with the pickles.
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I swear all I have to do is type the word here and they show up everywhere.
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Blech!
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The recent wildfires in Canada gave us hazy skies and some eerie sunsets.
* Warning – the following image may cause nightmares. *
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That abomination must be destroyed.
😳
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I really need to separate this line of hostas next spring.
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The bloom is pretty and the bees love it…
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But they’re getting a tad out of control.
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I like day lilies.
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They’re a joyous burst of color.
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And basically care free.
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Plant them and forget them.
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Until they bloom.
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And then be sorry the show is so fleeting.
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😊
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My new garden bed is starting to fill in…
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But I wish the woodchucks hadn’t eaten all my mid summer blooms. So much for strategically timed planting.
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The geraniums are doing well.
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I was a bit late getting these in due to my mystery illness, but they’re flourishing now.
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Our Japanese Spirea surprised me this year by branching off in white on the right side.
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It’s always been solid pink…
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But not anymore.
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Close up of its fuzzy blooms.
The bees love it.
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And yes, that’s one entirely too chill red squirrel.
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I’m a little behind posting these pics because things were blooming while I was sick.
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The peonies were lovely…
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But I didn’t manage a photo before the daylilies took over.
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Just a few fading blossoms.
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Still pretty…
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But less dramatic than they should be.
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🥴
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Walking around the gardens is pretty right now.
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Bee balm.
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Cat mint.
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Astilbe.
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Shasta daisy.
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Carnations.
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A darker astilbe.
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A slightly lighter bee balm.
July is in bloom.
🌸
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It’s weigela time.
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A deciduous shrub that has definitely enjoyed the over abundance of wet weather we’ve had this year.
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It always blooms…
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But rarely this much.
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And the hummingbirds are loving it as much as we are.
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Elsewhere in the gardens…
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Snow in summer.
I’m not sure of its real name, but that’s what we always call it.
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An early bloomer that tends to shrivel up and die in the dry heat of July and August, it’s putting on a lovely show now…
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Unlike its poor yarrow neighbor that the woodchucks have nibbled down to a nub.
🥴
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It’s Iris season.
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And at our house that means purple Japanese Iris.
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I prefer the smaller Japanese variety to the tall stalky bearded iris.
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More bang for your buck…
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And they spread evenly.
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Such a beautiful burst of violet.
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Shame they don’t last all season..
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😊
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It’s early June in Maine and that means rhododendrons.
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For a pure burst of color they’re hard to beat.
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And I’m not the only one who loves them.
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Dozens of big beautiful bumblebees happily sip nectar.
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It’s a lovely time of year.
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It’s starling time again at Casa River.
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In the spring and early fall they descend…
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In very large numbers.
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And clean out our bird feeders in no time flat.
Summer may be over, but my flowers have had a miraculous resurgence.
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Everything is in full bloom and looking lovely.
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I don’t know why…
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But I’m not questioning, just enjoying.
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Even my potted hibiscus is hanging in there with the cool nights.
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I planted a penta and the butterflies are saying thank you.
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Yes, I’m posting more pictures.
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They’re such gorgeous little things, how can I not?
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So delicate…
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So pretty.
💕
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River's world..... 