Summer Heat

The heat is on! Caterpillars have invaded and eaten their fill of the Passion Vine. The sunflowers are doing well and are blooming with chocolate and yellow blooms. I need to take my camera out there. They must be seven feet tall now. The roses are very fragrant this time of year. This is a picture of one of my favorites, Bride's Dream.
Between the heat and the rain, it's been hard to get the gardening done that I want to. The heat indexes have been in the triple digits for a few days in a row.

But time inside has allowed me to get some stitching done on my Chatelaine Mystery (Winter Eight) and my Mirabilias (Enchanted Mermaid, Winter Queen). The stash room is in complete chaos and needs to be put back into order and catalogued before the Fall and gift season stitching begins. I've also had some designing time and that is going well.

I just finished reading James Patterson's "Beach House". His stuff makes for great summertime reads. His "Lifeguard" is also on my summer list.

My husband brought me some wonderful summer peaches that are ready to be made into jam today. This past weekend I put up one batch of peach preserves and one batch of Rainier Cherry with Lemon jam. Ah, the fruits of summer...

Today there was the first Space Shuttle launch in several years- since the accident grounded them. Usually we can see the fiery tail of the engines and solid rocket boosters from the house, but it was too hazy this morning.

We released four monarchs butterflies today, and another will be ready to fly later. That makes a total of seven. There are plenty of milkweed plants in the garden to keep them happy.

Today's gardening activities include weeding in the rose garden and herb garden, a brief pass through the butterfly garden, check the orchids (none are blooming as I have recently repotted or divided most of them), and planting several plants that I have started.
Stitching activities include design and stitch work on a tree cross stitch of mine, and working on the Mystery Eight by Martina Weber.
Another "must do" is to tone down the newly applied stain on the refinished section of family room hardwood floor. It's been a pain to redo, but it's almost over.
Well, off to the gardens...I'll take the camera with me.