The Garden In June

The Canadian wildfires have been sending smoke to our area causing colorful sunsets
along with hazy visibility.

This week has been a blur of mundane activity around the house along with a couple of biking trips. The garden has been getting most of my attention since the temperature warmed and the rain has been quite frequent. Just when I think I need to water the whole garden, another rain storm does the job for me. That is a win in my book. 

During one of the rainy days I decided to test out my rain gear for Ireland and took a walk in a downpour. It worked well, but because it was warm, the waterproofs kept my sweat in, so I was damp anyway.

Peggy and Geri came over Tuesday so we could book our hotels for our extension travel after the ski tour in Norway. We're going to take a train over to the west coast, do a day trip along the fjiords, then stay another 2 nights in Bergen. Then we'll fly back to Oslo to catch our flights home.  Three flights in one day, in the winter, in the north, seems like pushing our luck, but we'll adapt to whatever gets thrown our way. 

This is my niece Emily, starting out on her solo journey of The Long Path - a 270 mile
trail from the south end of Vermont to the Canadian border.
Her Dad is in the background. She is a brave soul to take this on at the age of 26!

A new planting in the shade garden - Heuchera (coral bells), Browallia,
and Polygonatum (Solomons seal)

I've been cleaning up the brick walkways of weeds and grass that grow in the cracks. It looks so much better when it's tidy. I've planted all my experimental plants I've been picking up in markets and at shows.  My garlic scapes have appeared so they'll be ready to pick and turn into pesto just before I leave for Ireland.

I've been collecting rounded rocks for two years to make this geometric design 
of the round path in the garden. I've been calling this my "Art Installation". 😁

My new PRIDE wreath for June and the whole summer too. I am a proud ally
for family members, neighbors, and strangers too!

Wednesday evening the Ireland group got together for a bike ride and dinner afterwards.  George is facilitating a fun trip by getting the 6 of us together well before the trip to get acquainted before we spent 10 days together. We had a hot (90+) and strenuous (hilly) ride followed by a laughter filled dinner - lots of fun in any case. We arranged one more bike and dinner in two weeks, and we ironed out some travel details. Instead of renting a car and driving ourselves to Boston, we decided to just hire a car service to take us, as well as retrieve us from Hartford on the way back. George and I chatted about hotels in Ireland and I said I'll be happy with anything. I'm already spending quite a sum on the tour, so we might as well be pampered the whole way. I live quite simply and frugally day to day, so I like to splurge on comfort when I travel. 

I'll end with my three resident bunnies who cavort about the yard daily. I like to chat with them, along with the couple of garter snakes, and the squirrels who all stop by to say hello. At least that is how I like to see it.