boom!

this is as close as i got to fireworks this year.

dried peonies

a restful holiday

i am taking it slow this holiday weekend. i had a minor medical procedure done last week (non-illness related, and all is well). so i am using it an excuse to lie on the deck, as for the parasol to be adjusted as the sun moves, call for lattes and watermelon smoothies, and catch up on my reading. have i earned all this? do i care?

japanese tree lilac flower (Syringa reticulata)

harder than you would think

these are the same thistles i photograpohed the other day. i left them to dry on my kitchen counter. now it is snowing in my kitchen. in july. anyway, it is harder than you would think to make an image like this. the delicate little hairs of the thistle fluff absolutely want to disappear against the bright white background. after almost ten years, i have learned a trick or two. but after an hour of manipulation this afternoon, i wish i had a trick or two to spare.

musk thistle gone to fluff

on aging and time

i texted my best friend today to say ” happy july! what happened to june?‍” later when she stopped by to go pick up our fruit csa, she acknowledged the text saying, “seriously, june just disappeared, what can we do about slowing down time?” “nothing,”  i said. “there’s nothing we can do about slowing down time.”

bouquet of wild clover blossoms

wait . . . july?

the woman at the reception desk said, we’ll see you next monday, july 5. i said, “you mean june 5.” she said, “no, july 5. next monday is july 5.” i said, “what?”

roadside musk thistle