OK Let's hear it.
I was late, really late posting our new chat thread. Not too much to chat about.
HOWEVER, I think the summer temps are upon us... we can always talk about the A/C bills, Monsoon damage and awesome winds and rain. Yes, here we are at just the beginning of the hits.

I'm still holding out. I haven't turned on my A/C. I do have a house guest arriving on Sunday from San Francisco. You know how they are. I'm sure she'll insist on the cool blow.

Maybe in a week or two, May?, we'll have a cold snap

Pics from my cactus today...

Pachycereus Pringlei blooms

Cactus Wren's nest in Organ Pipe. They have babies and are busy feeding them.

Cactus Wren feeding on bugs caught in the Organ Pipe flowers. Breakfast for the aforementioned babies.

Saguaro flower providing breakfast for bees. I have WAY more flowers on my old Saguaro this year than all the past 6 years put together.

GREAT photos Susie. WOW!!! I feel like a peeping Tom...amazing clarity into the lives of the wrens.

It is so hot already and last night I turned my AC on for 15 minutes. I know it will come on tomorrow or Saturday abut I am still hoping for 90 again.

Love the photos of the wrens Susie, great job!!

Another breakfast butt shot today.

Great butt shot, Susie!

I love it, Susie!

Great original photos Susie !!! Seeing Cactus Wrens from a new angle.

Loving this pouring rain but it's stopping. I need two long rain days.

Just a few light spritzes here rain wise, but the air is so nice and cool with a strong breeze. Such a treat ! Sure needed that !

Yea, like Becky, because we live near each other, nice rain, clouds, wind, cool... then sun. Who would think I'd not welcome the sunshine. I crave cloudy days... and a little fog would do well,
too!

fog: YES please, Susie!
I had the windows open and completely cleaned my kitchen, drawers, cupboards frig etc! The rearranged my bedroom, did laundry and have a little more to do tomorrow before it gets too hot.

Great photos of cactus and wrens, Susie.

I never thought I'd crave a rainy day while I lived in the northeast. Now I do love them. And the rare foggy morning. Graham Stuart Thomas in his Rose Book talks about the joys of growing the eglantine rose: on foggy mornings the scent of its foliage makes the whole garden redolent of green apples. I did that experiment in NJ and fondly remember the moment I found it was true.

Nioce to see you over here, Steve!

I agree:bring the rain on!!!

I'm from San Francisco and crave the fog. My grandmother had a very contemporary home and planted Daphne around the perimeter. The lower louvres were opened in the morning and the fog off the Bay would carry the fragrance of the Daphne throughout the house. My favorite memory bar NONE!

Happy you enjoyed my pics, Steve. It's amazing what goes on in a small home garden!

Hi Boo. It's good to be back.

It's interesting how profoundly one can be affected by the delightful scents of a garden. And how moisture can help them carry.

I have found dianthus to be the perfect thing here for producing delicious clove-like scent. I planted Firewitch (from HCG - although there are many better sources) a few years back. On a still day, the flowers from three plants perfumed a nice large spot in the garden. I now have nearly a dozen and they are just now starting to bloom. I love the pale foliage. And that the plants require hardly any care at all. Here they hardly even need watering - they survive on water left over from my nearby roses. My only complaint is that after a few years they can get scraggly. I'm wondering if they can be revived by dividing an pruning them in the spring.

Another good smeller (also from HCG) is the Ribes odorata Crandall, a berry bush that makes tiny yellow flowers a little earlier in spring.

I need to find plants that extend the good smelling season into the summer and fall.

Steve, I love dianthus and stock mixed together for a wonderful fragrance!

I was in Prescott on Sunday and the weather was delightful. Sometimes I wish I were living there or at least had a summer home to go to every weekend.