Remarkable. . .

It's Hot. Let me sleep. . .

 We have been remarkably unmotivated. It's true that Jasper is lively and excited about and on his morning walk, but other than that, the somewhat unexpected late summer heat, and the malaise of the pandemic is hard to paddle upstream against. 

This mornings walk was along the river. It was beautiful and uncrowded at 7am, and Jasper is increasingly prancey dancey on these walks. He has to be woken up in the morning (very unusual trait among our previous dogs), but once he realizes that the game's afoot, so is he. 

I've finished off most of my indoor projects, though the rearranging of the studio is stalled. The outdoor projects, except for the garden, mostly involve paint, and I don't want to do that until we find our way out of triple digits in the afternoons. Fall is increasingly enticing, and winter seems a positive change as well, though I know that I'll miss the long meals and interactions on the patio. 

For Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

But there are some remarkable things in our lives. The vegetable garden is going full tilt. The cherry tomatoes on the left are what are left over after I picked a few quarts this morning. 

The Food Garden

The longer view of the garden. Again. Full throttle. 

 

The side path, always decorated, never the same

Then there is the side garden path. The perennial garden refuses to be deterred. Phlox is in full throat, and the bell flowers are making a comeback a month after their dead-heading. What a word. 

The Black-eyed Susans, more formally called Rudbeckia, are just getting started.

 

Black-eyed Susans

And while the Dahlias look battle-weary, the honey bee is still finding a reason for hanging out on it's stigmata. 

Battle weary but still attractive. Let that be us. . .

Red Dahlia