Just when I thought it was safe...

...to go outside, the rain is back with a, well, not exactly a vengeance since it's not
windybut let's just say that the drizzle ensues. This after yesterday's stellar day for
puttering.And, if you're like me the more you putter the more you WANT to putter.
It's like asnowball-effect. One more thing to do, then one more, then one more...
until, well, in this case, until the rain returns and renders the snowball a muddy mess.

'William Baffin' in one of his better moods. He really isn't partial to water-soaked
petals.


Yesterday I had to drive to my neighboring town of Corvallis, about seven miles away.
I took the above and below photos last evening, hence the darkness, on the lower
photo which I opted to leave rather than edit. I wanted the image to appear as
somber as my state of mind. [Not really. Well okay maybe a little...]
I checked the stats this morning and the Willamette River is at
fifteen feet. Twenty feet is flood stage and we may see that yet.

This is so NOT the norm for this time of year.


I took this photo this morning. It's of the river-front park in Albany taken from the
opposite shore. It's not uncommon to see high water during the winter months but
this is crazy. A few years ago my daughter's birthday party was held under that
pavilion roof. Her birthday is in the middle of July! In fact the area in front of the
pavilion is where we put our lawn chairs to watch fireworks on the fourth of July.

Okay, enough weather bickering....


This bumblebee found my Veronica longifolia 'Eveline' [or is it 'Sonja'? One or the
other.] too delectable to leave so he spent the night.


This is the border on the other side of my patio pond. The native vine maple [which
is not even close to a vine, by the way] acts as a barrier. And all the more this year
with all the rain to nudge it along. It will be getting a haircut soon. The closeup Heuchera
is 'Crimson Curls' and the one in the pot in the background is 'Georgia Peach.'


This photo is from about three weeks ago. 'Knock Out' rose is making me very happy.
The street side plantings in the aforementioned Corvallis feature Knock Outs and...
well I'm going to have to get photos. [Pussy Willow pretends to be shy.]


Somebody's getting sleepy....

And finally, another irresistible local installment of Loree's WWTT? Brace yourself.
This one is WEIRD!


My question is, besides What Were They Thinking, who the hell would want to trespass?
Beware of the dog? How about beware of the, um, creator of this monstrosity? Okay,
okay, creativity is subjective and some people might really like puce-colored foam
covering and entire building, made to look like...well, you tell me.

Mr. Crabby: You Make ME Crabby!

What's wrong with this picture?
Hint: Lower, right.
It's a spider.
Not just any spider, oh no.
Any spider would camp out under a rock or in
some obscure corner or on a web that hits you
in the face as you walk by because you don't see it.
But not this spider.
He likes to be front and center.

I won't pretend to have entomological leanings
so you bug-savvy people can go ahead and roll your eyes.
I only know it by its street name: "Crab spider."
He probably possesses an obscure benefit to the overall ecosystem
but I don't give a rip.
He's not welcome in my garden.
Going about my gardening, I'll see it sitting there, smug.
Like he owns the whole damn flower.
He's waiting. For lunch.
Eventually an unsuspecting, nectar-loving, tunnel-vision, bee will
home in and think, Wow. Yum. And settle down to eat...
Its last meal.
At which point,
Mr. Crabby-Pants will pounce and suck the life
right out of my beloved furry flying friend.
Evil.
Call me politically incorrect. I kill crab spiders.
This one died right after I took its picture.

I don't think you'll see any of Crabby's relatives in the
following photos.
Knock Out Double Red Rose
It's looking pretty fine isn't it?

One of the views from my deck.
The hanging basket houses, among other things,
'Tom West' Fuchsia. I successfully wintered
a humble stem of a thing and look at it now!

Fuchsia 'Nikki's Findling' an upright, non-frost hardy.
A local nursery has tons of Fuchsia varieties.
Most are available for purchase as plugs for
a mere 75 cents which enables me to experiment without breaking the bank.

Mukdenia rossii 'Crimson Fans'
Last year I kept this in full shade and lamented the solid
green foliage. An hour or so of filtered sunlight goes a long way.

Rhus typhina 'Tiger Eyes' Sumac
lives in a generous container. The "fabulous chartreuse" foliage
has taken on pink tones. Love it.

Clematis texensis 'Duchess of Albany'

Eupatorium cannabinum 'Flore Plenum'
This is a newbie this year. It's grown to about six feet
and has more rounded clusters of tiny pink flowers.
Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes'
Sooo beautiful!

Achillea millefolium 'Summer Wine'
No alcohol, no calories.

Agastache cana 'Heather Queen'
One of my cats likes to jump up and scare the humming birds
feasting on these blossoms.
The birds fly off and the cat crawls out from under five hundred broken stems.
I sigh and wonder why I have cats.

And another "oops!"
Neglecting for like one day, to monitor the zucchini,
this one threatened to swallow the house.
The upside: zucchini muffins!