Stranger in town...and he's making his presence known! This is a Red Squirrel, which are fairly common around here, but I discovered they're considered endangered in parts of Europe. I can understand why, as they can be pretty destructive if they get in your house... .....and more than a little messy outdoors. I see these piles everywhere lately... ....I mean everywhere!
And look at this! My garden seat cushion (old chair cushion from the dump), not only torn open, but the little thief is making off with the stuffing! I know he's the culprit, cuz' I caught him "red-handed"! ;-)
For the most part I don't mind having these guys around, but they can sure be noisy! This one was chattering away the other day, so I told him to keep it down.....Hey! I think he flipped me off!

Late summer project...here's a confession for you: I still have seedlings and spring-purchased plants to get into the ground! *whew* Now that I said it out loud, the healing can begin...
First, we start with this poor honeysuckle vine from last year that I forgot about, which is now surrounded by weeds... ...next, our seedlings: 'White Pearl' everlasting pea, love-in-a-puff vine, a tiny morning glory, and eastern anglepod vine.

Poor things are tiny yet, but alive so that's something!
Here's the trellis that started all this...mid-season impulse buy through the mail from "The Lakeside Collection", a sort-of knockoff from the "LTD Commodities" catalogs that circulate around various workplaces. Anyhow, it was cheap (like $7), so I had to order it! ;-)


Now I get to watch and hope they have enough season left to grow in.....fingers crossed!

Okay friends! Time to play my favorite midsummer gardener's game, "Is This Anything?"* Now, at first glance, this area looks much like a bunch of potted weeds, so the obvious answer would be "no", and so you win! But maybe not....you see, every year, there are a few pots of plants that did not come back after winters' cold. Also, a few things I bought and potted in lieu of planting which perished before they reached their destinations. So in my wisdom (laziness), I left these alone to see what might happen (or grow). So let's play...

...closer look....still weeds, you say?.....what's this? A clover of some kind! I realize some lawn-loving types call these weeds, but my wild bunnies and I would disagree!Anyhow, they flower, too........in a few colors!
Goldenrod is here, too......I have several "cultivars" around the place. Oh sure, all those sickly asthmatics (like me) whine about this plant, but it's so pretty....

....what's this? A volunteer petunia from somewhere....cool!This plant, smartweed, comes up for "Is This Anything?" every year...
...two different varieties/colors!And look at this pretty grass! How could anyone call that a weed?
Here's something I'm not too sure about, except that I like the cute, tiny flowers. (If I get a positive ID from my wildflower book, I'll edit it in.)The dead-looking twig with the leafy branches every so often is a honeysuckle vine I got from my sister last year and forgot about...oops! That is definately something!Another grassy-looking weedy thing...may not be much of anything, but I still like the seed head.
Now this looks like millet of some sort maybe...think I'll let the seeds ripen and try them out on the birds. I'll let you know what they think.


Another "weedy" seedy thingy....okay, maybe not anything.....

....like this, which I believe to be plantain, and I've heard that people use it in salads, so I guess that's something.

Lastly, we have another funky little seedhead. This may not look like much, but this nursery spider sure seems to think it is! So there we have it.....thank you all for playing my garden version of "Is This Anything?"....come back and play next year, y'all!

*This is the botanical version of the game,not to be confused with the very talented David Letterman's talk show game...go Colts! :-)

Oh, and by the way....in case anybody wondered how I came to sport the icon "Rockin' Girl Blogger", it was awarded to me by Phelan, A Homesteading Neophyte, way back on August 8th. I thanked her and promptly added the icon on my blog, but never bothered to explain. (I can be pretty slow on he uptake sometimes ;-) Anyhow, I am very grateful and proud to display this award!

"Schoooool's out fo summah! Schooool's out fo-evah!" Well, it is at this school, anyway! I pass this old schoolhouse on my way to the nearest grocery store, usually on weekends. Old building like this creep me out yet invite me in, all at the same time. Judging from the vine all over the front door, nobody's been poking around in here for a long while. I'd love to, but sure wouldn't want to get caught, and this is right by the road (I'm taking these from the truck.)

This shed's creepy, too....you suppose kids were brought out here to be spanked?
What have we here? A "student" lingers near the swingset....waiting for a playmate?Just one more shot, slightly closer...then I figured I'd better go before I disturb baby too much. No sign of momma...guess she figured baby was safe at school!

Blogger's Bloom Day...and I arrived at the party on time! Yeeehaaah! I will edit in text later, cuz' right now I gotta run....enjoy the pics! Okay, I'm back......first we have boneset, and as you can see, the bees love it! There's even a bee flying in to the left of the flower. This was a volunteer last year, and it has established itself very well. It has various medicinal properties, I just like the symmetry of the leaves. Some lingering daylilies, this is "Hall's Pink"....

....my new annual planter is coming along great, mostly because I water it constantly. The morning glory is doing a fine job covering the trellis and the ugly stuff behind it...sure hope it re-seeds next year!
Another daylily, "Lilting Belle". She just got transplanted a few weeks ago, yet still blooming like a rock star!

I mean, how can she produce such awesome blooms with such poor-looking foliage? Way to focus energy!
Sedum "Purple Emperor", one of my favorite new buys from last year.
Common Ironweed, blooming in the pot, waiting for a permanent home on my riverbank. It was in a regular garden spot, but it just gets too tall. Bees really love it, though.
Helenium "Joker's Wild"....I feel a helenium collection coming on!

Phirst phlox to bloom....I sure wish you could smell it!

Ice plant, blooming for the third time, still in the tiny grow cells from the nursery, waiting for a real home!
Okay, is this Sweet Autumn Clematis, or Virgin's Bower? Whatever it is, I like it!
Big woodland sunflower, another volunteer I really appreciate.
Purple liatris, another purchase from just this spring...
Fantasy Monarda, blooming very nicely, just like last year. I really like the funky look and colors of these blooms.

Another daylily favorite, "Chamonix"....
...and wave petunias that even look nice in the dark!
Here we have purple prairie clover, struggling a bit due to the lean sand it's in, along with several seasons of relentless browse from deer and bunnies. It keeps trying though, and I can really apprecite that!
White liatris, again just purchased this spring, and blooming in a pot whilst awaiting a home.


Sedum "Blackjack", also just bought this year and growing like crazy! Got some green in the back, reversion I guess...should I cut it off?

This is sedum "Matrona"......one of my favorites....
.....and a new coneflower from this year. I just cannot get over how well some of these new acquisitions are performing, especially in this drought! (I'm sure my non-stop "hose wrangling" has something to do with it!)
Sedum "Morchen", a passalong from my mom. It's kinda scrawny compared to hers, but alive at least!
Another fine annual, doing its' thing all summer....
...even my water garden plants are blooming! This is duck potato...I plan to plant it out along the riverbank after I've had my fun with it for the summer, and hopefully it'll return okay in its' new home.


The bees are digging it, for sure!

Another nice daylily providing a late display. Also a passalong from my mom, so no specific cultivar info :(
And may I present...Impatiens balfourii! I grew this from seed this year, so I'm doubly excited!
And my "regular" helenium, blooming despite the fact I cut off its' head earlier this year....cool!

And lastly, my buddy the Five-Lined Skink....okay, not an actual bloom, but I think he's pretty like a flower!