in the heat of the day

 It's not a race. Except, it sort of is. I am planting in weather that surely belongs to July. Flowers and trees -- they need to be in the ground. Now, this week. And so we work quickly. Despite the blast. Oh, did I mention it? It's hot! Reaching a toasty 82F (28C). I'm reminded of those scenes from movies that want to create a mood of relentless summer heat: a fly buzzes  persistently, a breeze rustles a few leaves then dies down. The air sizzles. Straight out of the Godfather in Sicily, no?

(chicks and cats, restless...)

 

 

 

We eat breakfast on the porch, seeking out the places at the table that remain in the shade.

(what's blooming? at the beginning and at the end of the season, much of the color is in the tubs...)

And then immediately after the morning meal, we go back to the new forest of trees. I put in the last walnut and the last hazelnut and more importantly, we find spaces for the hickories and we add one more row to the very northern edge of farmette lands where we can slip in a few more maples.

The planted trees are doing well, except, well, one cage was trampled down overnight, obviously by a deer. It's not that she was searching for the twig inside, it's that she likely did not see the cage. They are practically invisible. Ed will be weaving bright orange strips through all of them going forward. As a warning. Watch where you're going! We're hoping it's enough to keep the deer away.

I pause in the early afternoon. I have some repair work to do in the flower beds. Irises to move. And of course, the last handful of lilies to put in. I can't really get to all that right away because I  promised my daughter I'd help out with an outside play date that Snowdrop has orchestrated for this afternoon. 

Two new school friends. Snowdrop is so very excited! Sure, there are still the precautions that we have to follow: outside, try for distance, try for masks, at least when not eating. Still, the little girl has been wanting this so very much that she just cannot wait!

(Sparrow truly believes that his school friends will come as well. Never mind that he hasn't been in school for well over a year and what friends he had back when he was a toddler wouldn't remember him any more than he remembers them.)

(pregnant mommy)

Did I mention that it's hot? When her friends arrive, the sprinkler goes on!

Sparrow joins in for a bit after his nap.

It is truly grand to be so close to an almost normal day!

Evening. Where to put the small shreds of remaining energy? The trees? The flowers? Both! A few more maples, a day lily here, and the rest? Well, there's always tomorrow. And the next day. I want to be (basically) done by Tuesday! Can we do it? We will see.