Summer Saturday - This and That

Hello there! I'm sorry I didn't do Floral Friday yesterday, but I was catching up on doing laundry - a week and a half's worth, and that was about all I felt like doing. So today I have a real potpourri of topics to cover.


First up, are you familiar with the june bug??? When I was a child, I would catch them and my mother would tie sewing thread around one leg, and I would hold that string and make that poor bug fly and fly until it could fly no more. And when it could no longer fly, I would get so angry!


Yesterday (Friday) I was standing in the front door looking out and saw something moving on my blazing star and went out to see what was making the leaf lean so, and it was a HUGE june bug! By far the biggest one I ever remember seeing.


This fellow (I'm calling him a 'him' because he's so large) was easily 1 1/2 to 2 times as large as any I remember. There on the leaf is a little of his 'spittle'.


I went in the house after taking the pictures to get a jar, and thought I would keep him a couple of days, and when I returned there was a yellow jacket after him. I shooed off the yellow jacket and tried to get the june bug in the jar, but he flew away across the yard.


He was definitely and interesting few moments in an otherwise boring laundry day!


A mystery! Do you know what this plant/flower is???

Here is the foliage >>>

My mother pulled up a few of these that were growing around the outside of a nursery we visited about three years ago. I brought them home and stuck them in the ground and forgot them. And that was during a drought. Now they are still here and growing like gangbusters! I thought they were feverfew, but after some research I don't think they are. Are they maybe false asters??? If you have any info, I'd love to know what they are!

The pink girl tomatoes are coming along nicely! I got them planted quite late, so am pleased with their progress. The one below is my largest - about the size around of a tennis ball. I can't wait until they are ripe!

I have a few bloomers to share with you today! Of course that gorgeous garden phlox is still blooming (about a month now!) but the blooms are fading quite a bit now.

See this tiny little impatiens? She's volunteer from last year, and came up in among the rocks on the patio. I don't have the heart to move her, so I'll just let her be!

The lemon mint is just blooming like crazy, but it was really hard to get a decent picture because the blooms are so tiny.

And of course one of my favorite bloomers these days is the hardy hibiscus! The burgundy one is blooming very well, but the pink one should be opening up any day now.

The glads bloomed while I was under the weather, so the best I could get was one with the last two blooms open, but I wanted you to see how pretty this one is. The blooms are three-toned, with pink, yellow and white.


And when I went out to check on the basil, I found it blooming, and a bumble bee enjoying the blooms. I'm afraid I disappointed him because I pinched off all the blooms. Once the plant gets the message it's producing flowers (thus, seeds) it will stop making the delicious leaves! So in order to have more leaves, I keep all the blooms pinched off until much later in the season. This is 'lettuce leaf' basil.

And last, but definitely not least, I had a nice surprise on Thursday! Remember the post I did a couple of weeks ago about the free quart of Glidden paint? Well, mine came on Thursday! Less than two weeks after I ordered it, and delivered by Fed Ex, no less! I thought it would be 4-6 weeks, but no siree, less than two, and I was amazed! Now to figure out exactly what I want to do with it!

Okay, hubby just came out here to join me, so I guess I need to chat with him for a while. Have a great weekend! Becky