Melancholy me (a whine warning and pretty pictures)

My "Reading List" of followed blogs has been out of commission for days, reappearing for a short while just to tease me before crashing again. So when I have time I've been scanning the long alphabetical list to click on the blogs most likely to have updates, but I have to admit to clicking on Every. Single. One. at least once. Where are these bloggers who have gone silent – a few for over a decade? I deleted a smattering for whom I never felt a deep connection, but most were written by people I considered blog pals, even friends. Some of them I've even gotten to meet in real life which was a delight, every single time. What are they doing now? Are they even alive? It has left me with a sense of loss . . . on top of the daily burden of sadness I feel about my son. I wish I could report that there have been some positive developments there, but....

I stay busy because things need to be done and to ward off the blues – duties at home, office work, tending garden, caring for all the critters, playing with 'sticks and string' (spindles and fiber). And watering, always watering something this long, hot, dry summer. This week on the news the weatherman said that our heat starts gradually abating around the middle of August, but with weather seemingly everywhere turned on its head, I think all bets are off.

So how about those pretty pictures!?! I won't feel bad if you skipped straight to them; I would have if I were you. Here are some morning skies – and one evening one (the last one). Any clouds we get are appreciated for the shade, but morning ones are especially wonderful because the house doesn't heat up as fast from solar gain.

Our recent first picking of tri-colored bush beans, to go with the bounteous basil, prolific parsley, a couple of cukes, and zillions of zucchini (not complaining; we're eating well!):

I gave up on our snow peas, though. The plants were struggling and seemed to want to set seed instead of producing tender pods; I think it's just too hot for them. So I pulled them out (see the empty row to the left of the kale?), moved the soaker hose to benefit the onions (probably too late), and treated the boys:

There's a new kid in town:

Do you see it, in the tree? I've spotted this Douglas' squirrel for the first time on our property just this week, twice in two days. It's much smaller than our Western gray squirrels and the California ground squirrels; hopefully it steers clear of Poppy!

The bumblebees have been joined at the lavender buffet by butterflies:

I spent quite a bit of time early this week getting rid of THIS food source, Tansy Ragwort, on both our lot and the neighbors':

Found this bad boy, too:

I put all those flowers in an old feedback so they couldn't head out into invasive weed seeds. Meanwhile, my less-than-lush hosta is nevertheless starting to flower:

A parade of my most recent projects with sticks and string:

And for dessert, here's a heaping helping of cuteness with a comedy cherry on top. I caught and haltered Berlin a second time this week, and carried her into the barn to clean her fleece and trim her hooves for the first time. Little lamb, meet huge horse!

I decided to put a coat on her, and she proceeded to demonstrate why I wanted her in the relatively clean barn aisle instead of outside:

Yep, lamb drama over being restrained by that awful thing on her head!

That's it for now from . . .