Yap Island and Dr. Rosemary: 08.07.2022. Summer, Gardens, Sailing, my boys, and the locals

What we really could use now is a nice, long and steady rain. Not only is it hot and humid, but the earth is parched, and the gardens are dry and some of the well established plants are struggling. Fortunately I did not plant many new shrubs or flowers. We had a sprinkle of rain yesterday, not even enough to call the dogs inside the house.

We are seeing the last of the daylily blooms. This one is delicately colored but quite large.

The last tiger lily bloom.

Stella d'ora reblooms.

The star gazer lilies survived the bunnies!

We have quite a few little grasshoppers that seem to like the daylilies.

We have a resident Mr. Toad to add to our menagerie of animals around the house. He stays on the kitchen porch, quite often just under the kitchen door step. He also sleeps in the flower pot that contains a large rosemary plant. On occasion he has been "watered" before I notice him half buried in the soil! He doesn't really seem to mind. But I have to teach the boys "no touch" as they are very curious about him. Fionnegan in particular keeps a close eye on him. While Gunnarr and Shorty will ignore Mr Toad after a minute or two, Fionn will recline on the porch and just watch him.

And I have mentioned the bunnies. They are voracious eaters and have enjoyed all of my black eyed Susan's and daisies. Last night we watched one on the other side of the fence nibbling away at the leaves on a low branch of an azalea. The dogs were all excited and barked but settled down on command. Leave the bunny alone, I tell them repeatedly. Leave the bunny alone. So Fionn and Gunnarr just sat in the driveway laser focused on him as he happily nibbled his dinner.

We have planted flowers to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. We do have all three is the gardens and it is especially enjoyable to watch the hummingbirds. No good pictures yet, but here are some of the bees and black swallowtail butterfly. Maybe the butterfly is just as happy on the grass!

Happy bees.

The boys are staying cool with ice cream and watermelon treats.

Nice, cold watermelon hits the spot.

We have one new visitor to our yard. There is a barn owl that has been here at night and in the very early morning hours. One night it was calling and woke me up. I had never heard of such a call and thought it was the snoring of one of the boys. An online search brought me right to the bird. One night it perched on a tree along the driveway. So I was able to get a good look at it and watch it fly from one tree to another. Fortunately it did not bother Fionn or Gunnarr as they were just outside for their late night excursions.

And yes, my girl Mimi has stretched her sails and had some nice adventures in Boston Harbor. Here she is on her morning. It is also enjoyable to just sit on the deck and watch the sun set. I now have an electric motor for her. It does make it easier to get to the mooring.

We also have early morning walks when we can. I was trying to get Gunnarr to look at the camera, promises of treats and kisses didn't work. So I asked them if they wanted to go for a walk. That got their attention, so we did. After the photography session, of course!

. So off we went, walking in the cool of the forest. They love the walks. And it is refreshing. And they love the cool of the car air conditioning when we are done!