For July 12, 2023 trying to catch up 
Yesterday's goings on
Arachnidan Trap
Brazilian Flamingo - This one did not bloom at all last year 
Little Maggie
Grove Park Terrace
Velvet Shadows
Flycatcher x Heavenly Curls (Kim Klarner)
Wild and Wonderful
Dragon Fang
The teeth
Strawberry Candy
Asheville Social Butterfly FFO
Plum Tuckered
Alien Butterfly
Appalachian Ballad
Lilac Moonchild
Iwanna Piranha
Picasso's Intrigue
Party Crasher
Spacecoast Eye of the Tiger
Wild Horses FFO
Frozen
Spock's Ears
All Shook Up
Vintage Bordeaux
Black Panther
Black Fury - This one was doing well until last year when it started producing short scapes and blooms that are way down in the foliage and aren't completely open. I don't know what the deal is, but it's frustrating. 
Zoro's Blade FFO
Red Volunteer
James Dean Gallion
Mystic Pizza
This little dude landed on my leg yesterday. 
Cheyenne Spirit coneflower. It didn't bloom last year but there are plenty of buds this year. 
Finally the patio looks nice enough to photograph the gardens beside it! It was riddled with weeds growing in the cracks. We can spot zap the weeds, but more show up, so finally I was able to use time release weed and grass killer to spray the length of each and every crack. Very time consuming, but necessary for the patio, driveway and walks every year for 33 years. Although my attention and energy turned to Mom's issues in 2021 and 2022. I'm happy that things are a bit under control now. Who can relax on a patio full of tall weeds?
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From July 9, 2023
I finally was able to treat the Canada Thistle everywhere I could. It was really invading the newly started garden. 
I also sprayed weed killer in the cracks of the patio and driveway and sidewalk in the front. I did run out of the weed killer, 1.33 gallons. It covers something like 400 sq ft. Lots of cracks between brick pavers and patio blocks. Today I have to finish the Canada Thistle that I missed in the back and the ones in front that I couldn't get to, as well as general weeds in the pathway. I have to spray the entire surface of the pathway, so I might just get a hose end spray weed and grass killer. The vegetable garden is a complete weed garden, so I haven't planted veggies. The darn Canada Thistle war is taking up my precious time. 
I don't want to spray weed killer in the veggie garden, so there's going to be a lot of digging. The Canada Thistle will be the biggest challenge to get out all of those deep root runners. It felt good to have gotten so much of that work done. The world feels a bit lighter on my shoulders today.
Black Panther
Spock's Ears
Velvet Shadows
Carnival in Caracas
Mystic Pizza FFO
All Shook Up FFO
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Okay, I have a need to vent.....
Thursday, the nosey neighbor stopped over when she noticed me sitting on the front porch with the tablet in my lap. She talked my ear off, and I just wanted to get on with the business I went out there to do on the tablet, in the "fresh air", as I struggled to breathe. She's having her kitchen and bathrooms renovated, and the mess is driving her crazy. Understandable though, she's insanely neat. Her husband passed from COVID a couple years ago. This woman is a devout (self-proclaimed) "Christian", her word exactly, (she has never mentioned her denomination. I think she is Protestant, but I'm not sure), and that is wonderful, but every time we chat, she weaves Christianity in to the conversation. Not like one would expect though. I kid you not. Everyone she knows are "Christian". The guys who are doing the work are "Christians" and she was comfortable with leaving them there while she ran an errand. I'm happy for her. They're trustworthy. Who wouldn't want trustworthy people working on their home? Can't they just be trustworthy without pointing out that they are "Christians"? Who says that people of any other faith, or Agnostics and Athiests aren't trustworthy? 33 years of these types of conversations with this woman. Her kids are good "Christians", this person goes to her church, the woman who sold her daughter a home and owns the construction company goes to her old church. Her daughter married a good "Christian" (and wound up divorced because he cheated on her 
) and her second husband is a good "Christian". Bleh, bleh, blehbleh. 
It's gotten to the point that I dread chatting with this woman and I feel terrible about that. It's one thing to spread the word, and a it's a whole other thing to rub one's Christianity in other people's faces during every conversation. I think she actually does this because we are Catholic, and she doesn't understand Catholicism and that we are Christians too. Like us Catholics are from outer space or something. I guess she must be confused that she knows Catholics and doesn't know our beliefs. It's the oddest thing, and all I do is listen politely, nodding and vocally agreeing with valid points every once in a while. 
Why can't she just come out with it and ask me questions? It reminds me of a phrase in a song "....not everyone is what they show you." There's been so much that's happened in this neighborhood over the years. I have terrible trust issues. Now, she became best friends with her next door neighbor, directly across from us, who moved in in the same year we moved in, but last year they sold their house to their daughter and moved to a place with a single floor. They do visit their daughter and the nosey BFF, but there's really nobody for the woman to talk to on the daily, so guess who is the lucky second string? We really keep to ourselves because of her and the former neighbor. Their voices are like a couple of kackling whackos. This is the main reason why I started gardening. I wanted a safe place from prying eyes and to spare my ears. A secret garden in the back yard to relax. She said to me that she hasn't seen me working out front much and she was getting concerned. She has our number. She could have called. This tells me one thing. The honeysuckle I planted to block her view to our back yard is doing it's job! 
Our front yard and gardens aren't looking their best yet, this year. DH has had back problems, and I can't mow the hill in front, and our shrubs need major trimming. I apologized for that. She lives across the street and one house over to the left, so we're in her line of sight. She said she likes the shrubs and not to worry about it. (Remember this.) I said they're just going to get bigger, and I can't stand overgrown shrubs. 0 been neglected since 2021 when things started with Mom, and they are on the verge of overgrown. Prior to our conversation, one of the boys of the new neighbor beside us, cut the grass. During my conversation with the nosey neighbor, I noticed that their mower was no longer running and that their front yard and the grass between our homes had not been cut and I casually said that it was odd. (They have a double lot, so he must have only mowed that side of the house.) I didn't really care. We were both puzzled, and just when I was done with that subject, the nosey neighbor started pointing out how the new neighbor needs to trim their bushes and that the rest of the grass should have been cut, and they have three boys that they should put to work, and I said, "There are four boys." (there's a total of 6 kids) and "It's not my place to judge how they keep up their property." as I pointed at our grass and shrubs. She then started her backstroke kind of mumbling in agreement. Honestly! Now, I do not consider myself to be perfect by any means. I try to live my truest life, I tell it like it is, and what you see is what you get. I am human and a sinner who constantly asks God for forgiveness, and I never put myself on a pedestal. It's people like this woman who is blatantly a faith snob that I have trouble with. I overlook it and keep myself in check to keep the peace, but getting sucked in to these types of conversations every time I see this woman is really getting old.
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July 8, 2023 Peak Season
I ran outside around 2:30pm with rain clouds above and nabbed some photos before the short rain began. I only had time to get to the back yard gardens.
Brazilian Flamingo
Ticklish SFE
Grove Park Terrace
Arachnidan Trap
Party Crasher
Black Cherry Gumdrop
Bloodfire
Spacecoast Eye of the Tiger
Spacecoast Eye of the Tiger with Black Cherry Gumdrop and Bloodfire in the background
Chesapeake Crablegs
Appalachian Ballad
Frozen
Temples and Towers winding down
Alien Butterfly
Lilac Moonchild
Iwanna Piranha
Iwanna Piranha with Lilac Moonchild in the background
Vintage Bordeaux
La Vida Loca
Gardens
I am anxious to get the Starry Starry Night hibiscus for the center space of this garden. 
I am planning to build a fountain for the center of this old tree garden and I'm anxious to get started.
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July 7, 2023
Yesterday and the day before, our particulate level was reading in the low end of "Moderate", but I could smell strong smoke both indoors and outdoors, and my asthma was kicked up. This was curious to me, due to the low level of particulates we had on both days. In regards to the indoors, DH and I thought it might be the air filter in the furnace, so we'll be replacing it tomorrow. I was having such doubts about the accuracy of the EPA so I downloaded The Weather Channel app, and it corroborated the EPA's readings. Today, we've dropped in to the "Good" range, and I don't smell smoke indoors or outdoors. 
So my conclusion is that my sense of smell and my asthma are actually that sensitive. I have to say I couldn't be more relieved to have gotten a break from the stank and breathing difficulties today.
I got these African Violets from Lowe's three years ago, and once the blooms were gone, they didn't bloom again for two seasons. This season, I figured I would throw them out if they didn't bloom, and to my surprise, they bloomed! The big deal about this is that I can't keep indoor plants alive, and I've been so proud that these are thriving, but the blooms are why we love African Violets. I'm so glad they bloomed this year!
This shot was taken by accident, which has been happening more often this year than I care to admit 
but every once in a while they're worth keeping.
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