Nature Friday ~ August 19, 2022

Hard to believe we’re more than half way through August already which means we’re just a little over a month (34 days if precision is your jam) until autumn arrives. Count us in the happy column.

Elsa
Elsa here, your award winning correspondent, and I’m joining the LLB Gang for this week’s look at what nature dished out this week. Don’t forget to check out their Nature blog hop.

We started the week out with…ahem…steady yourselves…a nice little shower! I know, who’d have thunk it, right? Mom was expecting our usual 16 drops when she took me for a second walk all by myself. I was so excited spending one on one time with her, that is until about halfway to the post office when those 16 drops multiplied by a jillion. It wasn’t a heavy rain but it did drench us fairly well. We figured it’s be only a couple of minutes but ended up lasting for over an hour. Hurrah. They haven’t been too horribly bad and I’m hoping the 90º+F days are pretty much over. We’re beginning to see very, very subtle signs that autumn is coming. Then again it could be that some trees are so stressed, they’re just giving up for the season-they just can’t take it anymore.

At any rate, this week I decided to share some pretty gladiolus from around our ‘Hood. Mom has never planted them (she says her partial shade garden wouldn’t be a good place for planting them and she’s kind of OCD when it comes to any plant that flops over). Oh well, at least she has neighbors who have sunny yards and apparently don’t mind having to support them. Let’s check out this year’s crop of Glads, shall we?

Flowers

This ruffled, purple one is my favorite although I have to say they all were quite pretty.

Flowers

Mom was hoping she’d find a bee noshing down the throats of these flowers but she didn’t see any. Doggone it, I love following them buzz around and luckily don’t think they’re ‘sky raisins’ which makes Mom very happy.

Flowers

Mom also liked this pink one. She just kept saying out loud, “Oh my gosh, that’s just so gorgeous.” As you can imagine, I just shook my head. We had things to do and places to see. What’s wrong with our huMoms is a question I ask myself all the time.

Flowers

Ok, I’ll give her a pass. This time. It is kinda pretty.

Moving along on our tour…we walk past this house all the time but hadn’t noticed the front garden with the bike and wagon before until Mom was out photographing gladiolus. It may be a new feature this year. The border garden is quite lovely and we both were a bit surprised no one has stolen the bike which unfortunately seems to be a favorite of urban hoodlums these days. It seems that if you don’t have something nailed down, you can probably figure someone will filch it. Recently someone reported their baby stroller was stolen from their front porch and someone else reported someone swiped a potted plant. It’s getting ridiculous. How come people aren’t walking around the neighborhood to check out the beautiful flowers instead of causing larcenous mischief?

Flowers

Well that’s it for the ‘Glad’ show. I do have a critter pic to share though. A raccoon mom and her two babies have been combing the block early in the mornings while we’re out doing our thing. The babies are quite afraid of me and Norman but the mama seems poised to go all Oprah on us. She stands her ground till we get a little closer and then they either climb a tree or most often zip down into the storm sewer. That reminds me, anybody know what is so doggone interesting about those storm sewers anyway? I’ve seen foxes go down them too. The mysteries of life are just so confounding to us doggos.

Critters

So…you got anything exciting going on this weekend? I’m trying to get Mom to do something different, but we’ll see. She’s been so busy lately and then there’s the fact she’ll be doing hospital visits next week so we’ll both likely be getting bathed and groomed. Ugh…Mom…you know that wasn’t what I had in mind, right?

Have a cool weekend, both in what you do as well as temperature wise.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

24 thoughts on “Nature Friday ~ August 19, 2022

  1. Java Bean: “Big pretty flowers! We have lots of bees here right now. I hear them buzzing in the silk floss tree and in the trumpet vines when I go out in the early morning to potty.”
    Lulu: “Trash panda alert! Activate avoidance systems!!!”
    Chaplin: “We don’t know what’s in the storm sewers either. Our Dada says that they all float down there, but we’re not sure what he’s talking about.”
    Charlee: “Maybe they offer inner tube rides?”
    Chaplin: “Maybe …”

    1. Thanks guys. Those storm sewers have made great refuge for raccoons and foxes alike over the last 20+ years. Who knew Airbnb came in the form of storm sewers for critters?

    1. Aww, thank you. That’s so nice of you to say. Hope you have a ‘wagnificent’ weekend.

  2. Keep us updated on the continued ‘well being’ of that pretty wagon and bike…hope they stay put where they belong.

    Those glads are always such eye-catchers.

    We have some families in our Church congregation who grow them commercially, so they are often beautifying our sanctuary with them.

    1. They’re so pretty and make lovely bouquets. Just wish I had more sun to grow them.

      I’ve been keeping my eye out on the wagon and bike. Hopefully it will survive the n neighborhood hoodlums. 🤞🏻

  3. Mew mew mew maybee a bath an room wuud bee nice…kewl youss’ off….
    Nit that MEE wuud go fore that eether Elsa! Say are you part CAT?
    Those Gladdie Flowerss are so purtty…wee love them all!
    An that place with wagon an byecycle iss furry furry kewl……
    Yore rite tho’ about THE crime~~ this town iss THE *hot spot* fore byecylce’ss beein stolen an cut up an rebuilt all THE time! POLICE due not even follow up nowadayss…too much other stuff to wurry about!
    Wee are inn a heet wave ehre so wee purrobablee stayin inn this weekend.
    BellaSita iss still not quite over Sinusitis an her Costo pain iss seevere…..wee just hang out online an reed bookss an nap!!!
    ***nose bopss*** an ~~head rubss~~BellaDharma~~ an ((huggiess)) BellaSita Mum

    1. Sorry your mum is still ailing. Hope she feels better soon.

      Both dogs hate baths but are compliant (you’d think they were being so mistreated to see their faces) so this weekend should be interesting. 😄

    1. Thanks, Rosy. Rain around here comes so seldom, we try to enjoy it. Well we at least enjoy what it does for the garden. Have a great weekend!

  4. Beautiful flowers, beautiful garden and a very good looking Elsa.

    Have a fabulous Nature Friday and weekend. Scritches to the pups, a smooch to Norman and a big hug to mom. ♥

  5. Lovely flower pictures, and a lovely home display as well. It is sad what can get pilfered these days. We are conservative in what we have outside the home with the notable exception of Christmas. That bike and wagon compliment each other well. It doesn’t sound like the raccoon mom is too complimentary of the doggies but if she got to know them she’s like them just fine. Have a great weekend on the Ranch!

    1. Thanks, Bruce. This is a nice neighborhood for the most part (fairly upper middle class economically speaking) and increased property crimes are one of the things that really cheeses me off. Especially with things being so pricey, it really chaffs my chops. Sigh. Let’s just hope people start paying attention to the pretty landscapes and not millennials’ toys. Have a great weekend.

    1. I’m astounded no one has pinched the bike but especially flabbergasted the wagon remains. It’s just the thing someone might haul off. Have a great weekend, Helen and give the Thugs a good chin scritch from me and the Ranch Hands.

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