The Weekend

Bee Balm, proper name Monarda
If you look close enough, there's a bee, hard at work.

For some time now our television has sat quietly and seldom is watched. If there's a big local story about an ongoing event, then we'll turn it on. Weather, fire, floods, foes - these are things that get the tube energized. Otherwise it sits, dormant, used to watch the occasional BluRay, not much else.

Since we hired some chaps to do the yard work (four Portuguese guys, a Dad and his sons, might be a cousin in there as well, takes them all of a half hour, 'tis impressed I am) I often become a man of leisure on the weekends. Spend my time doing things creative, or not. I do surf the Web of World Wideness quite a bit. Working on this blog, reading other people's blogs and doing research. (For the book, of course. And the blog, I like to have my facts straight when I need them at my beck and call.)

Now that I have this very nice camera, I look for opportunities to use it. Normally just around the yard, I should get down to the seashore one of these days. Lots of good stuff there for the camera to take in.

Then again lately I've got this diverticulitis thing going on, makes me somewhat grumpy. Can't even have a beer with the meds I'm on. Monday I see a surgeon, hopefully we can rip this annoyance from my guts and I can get on with life. Man do I miss peanuts and sesame seeds. Those little buggers invariably cause my guts to get in an uproar. Sometimes it's caused by nothing at all that I can put my finger on.

Harrumph.

Zoomed in view of the lovely bee balm.

While photographing the bee balm I decided to get a close up, the result is almost alien looking. Still beautiful though. I just missed the chance to get a picture of a hummingbird. While trying to set up the shot, another hummingbird zoomed in and drove the first one off. Very territorial I'm thinking. Though the second hummingbird was much smaller, the wee thing was very aggressive.

The robins in the backyard are always squabbling as well. There seems to be a dominant male who doesn't like other males hanging around. He's also kinda pissy about other species of bird being in "his" yard as well. We used to have a Northern Mockingbird out back all the time. Hadn't seen him for a while until one day I saw him being chased off by a robin.

Nature, red in tooth and claw!

Another bee, hard at work.
I don't know what these flowers are called. Ten Shrute bucks to the reader who can identify them!

It was a cool day, unusual for mid-July in these parts. Normally it's hot and muggy, the storm that came through a couple of days ago really mellowed the temperatures and drove the humidity down. Very pleasant, I'll take it.

The Veggie Garden

Things seem to be shaping up in the vegetable garden, I expect a nice crop of peppers, beans and squash. The Missus Herself claims to be not much of a gardener. That's kind of like Michelangelo claiming to be not much of a painter.

In the morning, still rather in shock at the death of those four Marines, I read that the sailor who had been wounded passed away. Meanwhile the "authorities" try to determine a motive. I don't think you have to be Hercule Poirot to figure that out. Perhaps it's a coincidence that the murderer was from the Middle East. Anything is possible I suppose. The whole damn mess sickens me. One must be patient I suppose and let the wheels of justice do their thing.

But I digress...

And I'm trying to be of good cheer. I'm told that things are seldom as bad as they seem. Yup, sometimes they're worse.

So I chill out in my backyard and take time to smell the flowers and watch nature do it's thing. It is most relaxing and enjoyable.

The soothing sound of the waterfall...

One of our miniature Japanese maples, a favorite of mine.

The world goes on, whether we like it or not.

I have my sanctuary from the madness, I hope you have one as well.

Helps me to stay relatively sane.

Good day...