.
It’s early June in Maine and that means rhododendrons.
.
.
For a pure burst of color they’re hard to beat.
.
.
And I’m not the only one who loves them.
.
.
Dozens of big beautiful bumblebees happily sip nectar.
.
.
It’s a lovely time of year.
.
.
It’s starling time again at Casa River.
.
.
In the spring and early fall they descend…
.
.
In very large numbers.
.
.
And clean out our bird feeders in no time flat.
Summer may be over, but my flowers have had a miraculous resurgence.
.
.
Everything is in full bloom and looking lovely.
.
.
I don’t know why…
.
.
But I’m not questioning, just enjoying.
.
.
Even my potted hibiscus is hanging in there with the cool nights.
.
.
.
I planted a penta and the butterflies are saying thank you.
.
.
Yes, I’m posting more pictures.
.
.
They’re such gorgeous little things, how can I not?
.
.
So delicate…
.
.
So pretty.
💕
.
.
The hostas by our kitchen landing are having a good year.
.
.
A really good year. Tall and full of pale purple blooms.
.
.
.
The day lilies that were dug up by our neighbor’s tractor when our water line burst a few years ago have finally come back to life.
.
.
Half are yellow, half are this interesting double ruffle peach and coral.
.
.
Sadly these two by the road are full of weeds..
.
.
But the colors are spectacular.
.
.
.
In other news… His Lordship almost caught the dreaded red b*tch.
.
.
That rotten red rodent was sitting on the stone wall chattering at him, taunting him … swishing her tail and daring him to lunge.
So he did.
.
.
But sadly, he missed… and she disappeared into the wall.
Almost, Dudley.
Almost.
🥴
.
.
Day lilies are popping.
.
.
And they’re such a great burst of color…
.
.
I wish they were at least week lilies.
.
.
Here today.
.
.
Gone tomorrow.
.
.
Good thing there are a plethora of buds.
.
.
😊
.
.
Let’s take a walk around the garden, shall we….
.
.
Candy cane dianthus.
Almost good enough to eat.
.
.
A tri color pot of begonias on the kitchen porch.
.
.
A red astilbe, clashing with the barn red barn.
.
.
Pink astible out back.
.
.
I love the blooms on these flowers. They’re delightfully weird.
.
.
I can’t remember what kind of daisies these are, but they’re doing well and no one is eating them… so I really don’t care.
.
.
Purple bee balm.
.
.
A fabulous magenta shade.
.
.
Something purple.
.
.
Something red.
.
.
And something wonderful the woodchucks nibbled down to a nub shortly after I took the picture.
😩
.
.
As I feared, the shrubbery at the front of our house received an extreme haircut.
.
.
I know my husband needs room to replace the porch…
.
.
But it doesn’t mean I wasn’t cringing when he fired up the trimmer.
.
.
And when he was finished with those?
He moved along to the bushes in front of our office, which are equally as large but harder to reach.
How hard you ask?
.
.
Hard enough that he had to come inside, open the windows and trim from there.
.
.
Where there’s a will, my husband will find a way.
.
.
Peonies are the best.
.
.
There, I said it.
.
.
I’ll take a peony bouquet over roses any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
.
.
They’re full and vibrant and smell heaven sent.
.
.
We have two large bushes near our back deck and they never disappoint.
.
.
They’re too high for woodchuck bubblers.
.
.
For which I’m quite thankful.
.
.
His Lordship enjoys them as well.
.
.
Though that might just have been the sun.
😊
.
.
Our purple Japanese Iris were in bloom recently…
.
.
And they put on such a lovely show I have to share.
.
.
I’m not a fan of the larger Bearded Iris…
.
.
But these smaller beauties always make me smile.
.
.
They’ve spread naturally and take up half the garden bed now.
.
.
If only their bloom would last longer.
.
.
😊
.
.
It’s bad enough I have to battle baby woodchucks stripping my flower gardens bare.
.
.
They’re adorable, but it’s very hard to make them stop nibbling.
.
.
I heard shredding Irish Spring around the plants helps, so I’m all in.
.
.
My other problem this year?
.
.
A mouse.
Who beheaded all my lovely marigolds and dragged the blooms under our shed.
.
.
I didn’t even have a chance to photograph the pretty alternating yellow and orange combination before all I was left with was this…
.
.
Because as soon as the mouse ripped off all the blooms?
The chucks ate 3/4’s of the leaves.
But I fixed them.
.
.
I planted a row of taller crown daisies and no one likes those.
😉
.
River's world..... 