Full Blown Summer.

Summer is so seriously here. Everything is blooming, humming, buzzing and singing. Unfortunately, it is insanely hot and we are terribly short on rain. We have a bird bath and a fountain running. So, I think our birds are doing fine. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of bugs, either. This cicada popped out yesterday. He crawled out of this hole, which Buster was a little obsessed with. I really like cicadas. I love the way they sound and I think they are pretty cool looking, too. In North America, there are six different kinds of cicadas. But, I haven't yet found a guide with which to identify them. Yesterday's was green, unlike the orange ones we photographed at Great Serpent Mound a few years ago.


Eric put these drumstick allium in last fall and I am really liking them! So are the bees. They seem to be at them, constantly. We have no shortage of flowers to attract them, our garden has really improved in the last three years and has a nice variety of flowers blooming all season. But, we are not seeing as many bees as we'd like and virtually no butterflies. We had one monarch caterpillar on the milkweed and it seems that someone must have eaten him. I hope it tasted bad and made them horribly ill. Also in this shot is one of our flamingos. They started out as the black skeleton ones. We wanted the best of both worlds, so, they've gotten a paint job. Next, their bones will be coated with glow-in-the-dark paint, so we can have spooks at night.


Last week, I attempted my first tiramisu. I compared a bunch of recipes and found a good tutorial. I think I was fairly successful my first time out. I was patient about letting it sit for 24 hours and it was good. But, at 48 hours, it morphed into a sublime beast. Next time, I'll assemble two days ahead! I went to Aldi today and bought the last two packages of the lady fingers I had used. So, there will be a next time.


A few weeks ago, a tragedy occurred in South Beloit. A Lustron house I pass every day on my way to work went up in flames. The house had a garage attached with a breezeway and it looked like the fire had started in the garage. I am assuming that the original interior had been removed and replaced with conventional materials, since the interior of the house had clearly burned well. It doesn't look like the house is salvageable and this makes me sad. It was a little gem and I am sure it is only a matter of time before it must be demolished. If you are inclined, perhaps you could save some of it.


I found some photos that Eric had taken this spring of our early bloomers: They're here. The usual suspects are here.