A Backward Glance

I'm posting this updated garden photo both to show you how different it looks now compared to about a month ago, and to remind myself while I'm traveling what's going on at home. It always seems a mixed blessing to leave the garden in summer.

The purple flowers in front are loosestrife, which came into bloom a week or two ago, and you can see behind that our big hydrangea. The pink butterfly bush and blue globe thistles are to the right. The roses, behind the butterfly bush, are almost entirely done -- only one bush is still blooming.

Here's the front porch. I can't complain at all about our zinnias -- they're looking great! And on the right is an African marigold and a dianthus I bought in the early spring that has lasted far, far longer than I ever expected it to. (Did you know, by the way, that the name "marigold" derives from the Virgin Mary? I just read that online somewhere, and since it's on the Internet, it must be true.)

We have a friend who will tend the garden in our absence, so hopefully everything will continue to look good.

Back on June 6, I posted a picture of some random shoes scattered on a concrete step near the high street. Well, the shoe pile is not only still there -- it's GROWN! And there's still only one of each shoe. What is going on here?!

Ponder that mystery. Meanwhile, Dave and I are taking off in a matter of hours on our new adventure.

Someone asked if I will be blogging from Southeast Asia. I intend to, but I have no idea what our Internet connectivity is going to be like -- and obviously we'll be on a completely different timetable. So I can't tell you when a new post will appear. I hope to post daily as usual!