Tuesday, August 31, 2010

It's not always about the garden ...

... sometimes it's about the silly dog.

A hot, hot day is the perfect day to give Dakota a bath.  Whewww ... now he smells better!

Change on the wing

 Those tiny flecks against the sky are nighthawks, which really aren't hawks at all.

A small flock of nighthawks passed over sillydoggarden on Sunday. On their way to South America, the birds swooped and turned and counter-turned, all the while catching flying insects in their mouths. You can't tell by my miserable photo attempt, but they have white bands on their wings that are visible in flight. A change in season is imminent. Can the hummingbird migration be far behind?

The Star Tribune writes about nighthawks here. And John Latimer describes watching them as they move south.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Seventh Day Project celebrates one-year anniversary

If it's August it's time for some deck sitting. And this year part of the view includes drifts of orange cosmos.
 
It's hard to believe I've been doing this for a year -- of course, you can find something in the garden every day to celebrate. True. Even in winter.

This year the Seventh Day stretched a bit into the Eighth Day because of a wonderful long weekend spent with out-of-town family. In any event, there are some remarkable differences between August 2010 and August 2009, no doubt due at least in part to this summer's extra-warm July. One notable benchmark: The Casa Blanca lilies are blooming now; last Aug. 7 they were still in buds. Another benchmark: The corn is twice as tall as it was last year at this time.

I had considered dropping the Seventh Day Project after a year, but I think I'll keep it going. I'm having way too much fun.

As always, check out the photos in the sidebar at top right.

Monday, August 9, 2010

If you love lilies ...

This lily is from my garden, not from the Lily Ladies. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me on the shopping trip but you can find colors similar to this one at the backyard nursery we discovered by chance.
 
... and are in the Duluth area, take a spin over to the Lily Ladies at 4029 E. Superior St. My sisters-in-law and I were in town to do a little shopping over the weekend and happened by chance onto the Lily Ladies. The tiny backyard nursery specializes in lilies and we wandered about the potted plants and drank in the intoxicating fragrance. The mother-daughter team has a great selection of potted lilies, including a yellow-pink one that I may have to go back for. The lilies are 10 bucks a pot; they also offer some other perennials including a few hostas and heucheras.

The Lily Ladies is open Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 29. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. 

Sunday, August 1, 2010

New neighbor

The new neighbor is a quiet sort. I have yet to hear him call.

The four goldfish in the pond have company. A small frog (probably a green frog) apparently has taken up residence in the former bathtub turned garden water feature.

He/she nestles into the moss between the stems of the umbrella palm, where he seems to spend hours barely moving. He is neatly camouflaged but if you look close you can see his throat swelling and falling. Occasionally he moves to a place on a waterlily leaf or suns himself on the flat rocks that line the pond's edge. It must be something of a dream home for a frog. The water stays nice and warm -- sort of like a comfortable bath -- and there's plenty of food nearby.

Which is not to say that he can't move fast when he needs to. Startle him and you'll hear the plop of frog on water before you can make out where he lands.