The Front Yard - Planter

I think I might add a couple more flowers to this planter. We'll see. Also, very hot an sticky today. I actually turned on the central air.

The Big Dipper

While returning to the house after taking out the trash I looked up and saw the Big Dipper. Good to see as it's been a while since I've noticed it.

More of the Garden by the Grill

Photo taken yesterday. Lawn was mowed yesterday too.

Garden by the Grill

Lion makes his first appearance of the year.

Backyard Pine Tree

I mowed the lawn today and then spent a good chunk of time trim-

ming edges. I worked particularly hard on cleaning up the base of the backyard pine tree by trimming grass and cutting back the hostas a little bit.

Pansies

We've had so much rain this year that I haven't even hooked up the garden hose yet! I've just done some watering of the few annuals I have (including these pansies) with the watering can.

Snow on the Mountain

The plan is to plant a tree here before summer is over. Hope-

fully a gingko tree.

Hostas

The hostas are starting to flower.

More Achillea

We're Goin' Down

Yesterday the total daylight was 15 hours and 37 minutes. Today we're at 15 hours and 36 minutes. D'oh!

Achillea

The achillea in the garden is starting to bloom.

Summer Solstice 2011

Today is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day of the year in 2011. This solstice occurs when the sun is farthest north in the sky and is directly above the Tropic of Cancer. Today may be the longest day of the year but that doesn't mean it's the warmest. The Earth will keep warming into July even as daylight decreases.

Lupines

On my recent visit to Madeline Island I found that the lupines were in full bloom. Sadly the weather was cloudy and cold. These pictures are actually from last year.

La Pointe, Wisconsin

The family that owns the ferry line that runs between Bayfield and Madeline Island own a beautiful house with a beautiful garden on the town of La Pointe's main drag. I don't know the name of this particular type of flower that was growing in their garden but they sure were beautiful.

Dale's Yard on Madeline Island

Just got back yesterday from visiting Dale on Madeline Island. The apartment he rents there is beautiful. Here is one of the many irises growing in the yard there.

Clematis

The clematis by the grill is flowering. I love the color. Photo taken 6-17-11.

Missed the Full Moon

The June full moon is called the full strawberry moon. It happened on June 15. According to the Farmers' Almanac this name was used by every Algonquin tribe. In Europe it was called the Rose Moon. "Also because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June... so the full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!"

Clumps of Leaves

Rain very early yes-

terday morning while I was still asleep. Lots of clumps of leaves fell and more fell today. Cleaned them up so I could mow today.

Red Breasted Robin

Was washing the dishes and saw a robin (not the one shown here) out the kitchen window. It landed on the clothes line and perched there for a minute. Very beautiful.

Salvia

Hard to believe that this salvia is bloom-

ing right where last winter's massive snowmound was. I love the color of the blooms but this salvia only flowers for a short time. Ya gotta enjoy it while it lasts.

Morning Rain

This dewdrop world -

It may be a dewdrop,

And yet - and yet -

-by Issa

Okay, what you see on the leaves are raindrops and not dewdrops but it was the best I could do.

Little Bells

I don't know what these things are called. They came with the house and grow by the south east corner. I like the little white bells which only last a little while. The leaves last into August depending how wet the summer is.

103 Degrees Today!!!

We haven't cracked 100 in 5 years! Accord-

ing to Paul Douglas this is the hottest it's been in Minneapolis since August 1, 1988.

Dad gave me the pictured flowers years ago. I don't know what they're called but they flower every year at this time.

Rhubarb Seed Stalk

The rhubarb plants send these stalks up every year. I always end up cutting them back eventually but make sure the seeds fall to the ground. Also, mowed the lawn for the first time this season (Dale's done it once or twice so far).

Whirly Birds (150th Post Today!!)

Dale and I have a silver maple in our front yard and our next-door neighbor Jim has one in his back yard. Between the two trees we get a LOT of the seeds in our yards. As kids we called them whirly birds (I know some people refer to them as helicopters) and used to collect them in Kemps ice cream buckets. We'd climb a ladder and dump them and watch them twirl to the ground. If we felt adventurous we'd walk to the Nicollet bridge that crosses Minnehaha Creek and dump them over the side. It's a lot more fun to play with them than having to sweep/rake a whole yard full, but I do have fond memories of them!

More of Dad's Garden Stones

Dad's Garden Stones

Becky and Sam have a lot of Dad's garden stones in their back-

yard. I photo-

graphed some of them while visiting them in Leaven-

worth.

Flowering Bush

I don't know the name of this flower-

ing bush. They are very pretty and I wish they lasted all summer long. They border Jim's northern backyard property line and our southern backyard property line.