BIG HURRICANE SANDY POST

we had a hurricane on october 29th... mom took this...

here's me today standing next to a felled oak's roots...

 before the hurricane, the tithonia had finally flowered, after reaching almost 20 ft tall, on the right...

i knew tithonia would get knocked down, so i brought in many flowers before the storm...

the painting is by one of my daughter's friends...

then the hurricane hit, took away our power for 11 days, and a few shingles from the roof...

we were so lucky... but the tithonia did fall....

we have a generator, so things were not so bad... but luna had that "omg, how long will this last" kind of look...

whereas colton was his ever sunny self...

a week after the hurricane, us still without power, we had a nor'easter...

and the snow melted beautifully the next day... 

here's how the potager looked last weekend, after we got power back... soon i'll be stringing the lights!

COLTON VS TEDDY BEAR

haven't been posting much as i started night classes...

hubs captured this wood pecker with the new camera...

colton after his last grooming...

luna, looking really trim after keeping colton in line...

um, i think we know who won this one... thanks for the teddy bear, mom!

colchicum 'water lily'

the lespedeza was quite stunted this year by the drought, so was less tall, but just as showy.

DOGGIE POOL PARTY

our town hosts a doggie pool party annually a week after the pool closes...

colton has yet to swim, as he's only 7 months old (and 57 lbs)

would i be able to coerce him to enter the water?

(luna, our whippet, likes water, but not swimming)

well, everyone else is doing it!

at last he did go in... as luna watched...

he didn't like the steps, however... we'll stick to the pond!

THE DAMAGE DONE

ACK!

the culprit was humanely removed... but no broccoli this year...

PAINTED LADY POSES

i was so happy to see this today:

and the painted lady was quite cooperative for a short time...

even finding the best light...

the potager is in a wild state... 

tithonia, at right, is 9 feet tall and still not blooming...

 this butternut is oddly attached to the stem along its length

lucky spider, unlucky wasp...

echinacea 'green jewel' lasts a long time in or out of a vase...

cleome 'violet queen' which self-sowed (and how.)

COAL-TON

katydid on the house... taken with flash the only light...

"i wasn't sticking my nose in the charcoal bag, it's ash wednesday!"

right after i saw this photo, i trimmed luna's nails... 

the tomatoes are burgeoning and i'm giving them away...

CRACKED TOMATOES

but who's complaining? we returned from vacation late last night; i went out to the potager with a lantern to collect a few tomatoes for dinner... and wow, they were sure easy to find! dr. wyche's yellow has the largest fruits this year...

here they are with some cherokee purple, brandywine and cucumbers...

the potager looks pretty good and has enjoyed the recent hot, dry weather... friday's storm with 1" of rain apparently caused the cracking, but we needed the rain.

arrangements i made today...

i'm going to have to take my camera in for a cleaning... it's a mess...

JUST CHILLIN'

it's hot here... where isn't it in the u.s. these days?

colton weighs 50 lbs... 

just chillin'

brugmansia blooming, first night

against the evening blue

veggies are struggling in the potager with the wacky weather, but tomatoes are producing...

CAN'T GET OVER THAT POODLE

colton and his new toy

i charted colton's weight vs. time... maybe 60 lbs by september?

the potager is starting to really produce, but the weird weather has been tough... i'm about to cut back the fruit trees in the back...

summer is grand!

ROBINS REPRODUCE

i love the robins and cat birds, eating all the bugs

this nest it right out one of our windows...

HOT DRY JULY

just a quick mid-week post... it's been hot...

colton lost all his baby teeth and weighs 43 lbs...

yellow clivia is enjoying the light under the dog wood....

containers on the front steps...

the potager in july glory... no tomatoes yet!

COLTON & LUNA UPDATE

colton and luna... colton weighs about 39 lbs and is getting adult canines