LOL, they are funny aren't they. It was my last Golden that was 17, his name was Chip, Boo the doodle was only 10 which wasn't bad considering his health issues.

Congratulations Lin! I saw your avatar a few days ago but just assumed it was Bo as a pup. Boy, aren't you the brave one taking on a new puppy right on the heels of getting moved in & settled. What? Didn't you already have enough on your plate? Toby is adorable! Did you get him from the same breeder as Bo?
He & Bo are going to be such fast buddies!

Elaine, what lovely pretties you have blooming at your house. I especially love the water lily. I have to say that plumie is gorgeous even if it never blooms!

Sherri I'm so sorry about your shed fire! I missed hearing about that. How did it happen, do you know?

Alice, my condolences about Boo. It's always hard when we have to say goodbye to them.

That variegated plumie, all the folks over on the Plumeria forum said the same "it's so pretty" but they can't tell me why it doesn't grow.

I might have to send it to the 'jungle hospice' which is what I do with my orchids that don't do well - just relegate them to the jungle to sink or swim on their own merits . . . sometimes it comes out well, too!

I agree Elaine, send it somewhere, anywhere but where you have it. Often times that works a treat.

@flaflwrgrl Ann, LOL we wondered if we were taking on more than we could handle with a new puppy but we've both mellowed with age and don't let stuff overwhelm us anymore. We moved on May 1st and we're pretty much settled now. Yes, Toby came from the same breeder in Tennessee where we got Bo. We debated whether we should get an older puppy of 5 or 6 months of age (Bo was 7 mos. when we got him). We weren't sure if we had the time and energy for an 8 week old but Toby stole our hearts. He quickly became a part of the family and we are truly enjoying his "puppiness". He has the typical friendly, Golden attitude and it will be fun to watch the changes as he grows. His potty training is going great; he had a couple of accidents the first day, luckily on the tiled kitchen floor so it was easy to clean but those couple of instances were to be expected with us getting used to a little puppy and him getting used to his new surroundings. We got the timing down right away and we're training him by going in and out the same door each time. When we put his leash on, he now heads directly to that door and back when we return ... he's learning fast. So far, it's been a lot easier than I imagined. The first two nights he yiped, yelped and howled for half an hour to 45 minutes before falling asleep in his crate but we knew it was because of the unfamiliarity with his new surroundings and being away from his litter mates. Bo was very nervous and didn't know what to think of the little one, he kept going and looking at him and coming back and staring at us. We laughed so hard at the different levels and tones of Toby's voice those first two nights but it didn't take long for him to settle in. Bo is being a great big brother, very gentle when they play, it's funny watching him hip hop around so as to not step on the baby! Last night we put Toby to bed at 11:00 and he didn't wake up until 6:00 this morning ... I think he and Bo were both totally tuckered after playing together last night.

To get back on track ... not much going on in my garden right now with all this heat but a couple of pic's of what's still pretty.

Blc. 'Sunset Glory' currently in bloom .... annual Gomphrena 'Pink Zazzle' I bought a few months ago is still blooming


I never get tired of the colorful leaves of Codiaeum (Croton) or Caladiums

Pretty Lin! Crotons can always be counted on for color all the time.

It sounds like everything is going really well with Toby. I've immensely enjoyed your descriptions of "Life With Toby & Bo" I got the biggest kick out of the way Bo would go look at Toby & then coming & staring at you guys. "Is he ours to keep? Huh, huh? Really & truly? Or are we just babysitting? Is he *mine*? Mine, all mine?"

Yep, that's our Bo ... we've had to reassure him that he's still #1.

I love Caladiums and just ordered two boxes of bulbs from CaladiumBulbs4Less on the classified forum; they should arrive today!

Wow, you'll be busy planting, Lin. I've loved the Caladiums that I planted in late summer a few years ago. They still come up around now, and look so pretty all the way through the fall. I've saved a bag from my spring order to plant pretty soon - I'd better start finding some room for them.

Lobster Claw Heliconia, Shampoo Ginger, and the one I call "corduroy" ginger for it's nice textured leaves but it's Zingiber collinsii.

I love the Hanging Lobster Claw (Heliconia rostrata) and almost bought one awhile back but changed my mind due to space restriction in our small yard. Many years ago we had lots of Shampoo Ginger (Zingiber zerumbet) growing behind our shed. It wasn't something I planted, rather it came from a neighbors yard; that one was not one of my favorites but I really do love the foliage of that Ginger (Zingiber collinsii) and the cones are pretty too.

I love the crab claws too and the corduroy ginger is really neat looking.

Always love to see that Zingiber collinsii. It is rated for 8 to 10, I wonder why we don't see that more often in the trade.

Good point Alice.

We got some rain today! Under a 1/4" but it's better than nothing and especially when it looked like we were going to completely miss any today. They have us for 80% tomorrow. Let's hope it pans out.

We got all of 12 drops here today despite some really good looking black clouds and thunder. Let's hope we all get a good soak in the next few days!

Alice, I think this ginger would mainly be sold as a foliage plant, because the flowers are hidden way down amongst the stems:

You might be right on that but darn, I don't think I have ever seen it sold at all.

I went to Charleston yesterday and drove home through some pretty fierce thunderstorms that were dropping lots of rain, the roads were flooded. Naturally when I got home it had only lightly sprinkled here. Since that was the first in 2 months it did at least clear the air.

Very 'close' here in gainesville this morning. Hard to catch your breath. Not fun to even water

We got a nice downpour earlier this morning ... was hoping it would last awhile.

We've gotten a sprinkle - not much more than that really but it was enough to get the grass blades wet & we're still under cloudy skies so if the cloud cover keeps up, we won't dry out any more. Yes, humid here but I'll take it if things stay damp.

It's been cloudy here all day, thunder off and on but no more rain since the downpour this morning. We sure do need some good drenching!

I'd love to see one of those nice steady rains that begins in the late afternoon/evening & goes all night long until morning. We need about 5 of those!
I think we're about 9" below for the year here.