A Couple of Lazy Days

   I have been very lazy about keeping my blog up-to-date, primarily because it has been very hot. Also, my back has been bothering me - too much tennis and some hard gardening. Over the weekend I finally got the bushes at my front door trimmed down to size as Steve had fixed my hedge trimmer the last time he visited. I had to get out the stepladder to reach the top but they look much better now.

   Today, feeling a bit more agile, I headed out early for tennis as a heat alert had been issued. We played sporadically for about an hour and a half by which time the temperature was approaching 30C. I was surprised how much more comfortable I felt after hitting a few balls but didn't move around the court too much because of the heat. Everyone was doing the same. After a swim and lunch I headed to my bed for a nap and have been in and out of the pool since, alternating with reading in the shade.

   I have finished Dan Brown and am now reading "The View From Penthouse B", a very funny novel by Elinor Lipman. It's about two newly single sisters and their adventures into the world of online dating. Quite hilarious! 

   The raspberries are coming in, with a vengeance, but I have held off picking too many as the grandkids are coming over tomorrow and will demolish them in short order. I hope they have fun in the pool as the temperature of the water today was 82F, hotter without the use of the heater than I can ever remember. I will try to get some photos of them.

   Luckily, it is leftover chicken tonight so I don't have to turn on the oven. I am praying that the house will cool off somewhat overnight so that James can sleep tomorrow afternoon.

Garlic Pesto Pizza

   I found some marked down naan at the grocery store today and had a brainwave, involving the pesto I made last week from the garlic scapes. It only required me to remove the jar of pesto from the freezer in enough time to be able to defrost enough to thinly cover a piece of naan. Then I topped it with tomato, sweet onion and grated cheese. A few minutes under the broiler and it was ready. Very delicious!

   I am still eating the last of the strawberries from my trip to the berry farm on Monday. There weren't enough left to freeze so I will just nibble away at them until they are gone. I need to eat them up as the raspberries in the garden are just about ready to pick. I have plenty of jam to last me until next summer and it can double as a dessert topping or to fill turnovers.




  I am really enjoying the Dan Brown book, especially as it is set in Florence, one of my favourite stops on my Tuscany trip. He obviously knows Florence extremely well as he has incorporated many of the well know art sites, palaces and gardens into the plot. I was curious about some of the sculptures he mentioned and went on line to find them. Lo and behold, there is a whole website based on his book and the Florence connections. That's one way to fritter away a hot afternoon!

   Tonight I am cooking tilapia which is not a fish I usually try. I hope it is tasty.

 

Blue Hues

    A new colour in my garden palette, this time out front - and this is the only place in my borders where blue dominates. This plant, I believe, is called "Balloon Flower". You can see, before the blossoms open, they resemble little balloons. This particular perennial propagates easily, as I found out after nipping off the old blossoms and tossing them back in the border. Next year I had dozens of new plants!

     I'm not sure what this plant is called, as it just appeared in my border, but it is such a pretty mauve colour that I encouraged it along and now have it in two spots. It looks very colourful in contrast to the little sedum bush beside it.
 
   Beautiful weather for the last two days. The humidity has gone, the nights are cool and the days, sunny and warm - perfect tennis weather, but also good and cool for garden tasks. Today it's cleaning the pool!

   Yesterday I started reading Dan Brown's latest book, "Inferno". It's another conspiracy tale featuring his hero, Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks in the movie versions). I really enjoyed his two previous adventures "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons". We shall see how this one stacks up against them. So far it is similarly fast-paced and full of danger.

Change of colour

   Last month my garden was all about pink. Although I still have some pink phlox about to bloom, the colours are more in the orange range this month. Day lilies are blooming in several spots and a very pretty yellowy-orange daisy has just started to flower and will be around until late August, Unfortunately I don't know its name.

   The day lilies are interesting. As the name suggests, each bloom only lasts one day but there are several on each long stalk so a new flower is opening all the time. They will continue to flower until the end of the month. This is a plant you will see growing wild in many rural areas as well as cultivated in urban gardens. In fact there is a large patch of them I pass on my way to the tennis courts, beside a fence, seemingly the overgrow from someone's garden.  They are such a cheery bright colour!

 
 
The daisies are rather gangly and spread out but I hate to tie them up as they seem more natural this way. They are nestled in my rock garden with hosta, sedum and other perennials.