Hi Ho, Hi Ho

It's off to work I go -- another cog in the wheel, another dwarf in the mine, another wage slave. Some of you asked why school seems to be starting so early. The kids aren't coming back yet -- we have about a week and a half before they show up. But we teachers and staff have a lot of preparation to do, especially in the library, where some major construction work was being done in the ceiling over the summer and no doubt things have been moved around and need organizing.

I anticipate a fairly busy day, actually. That's not a bad thing. I usually find that after a couple of months of summer I'm ready to get back into my working routine, if only so that I can once again start complaining on my blog about overdue books.

We had more rain yesterday morning -- a good, steady, soaking rain that went on for a while. I wish it had gone on all day, but I suppose I shouldn't get greedy. Here's a look at some of what's blooming in the garden at the moment. At top, a hydrangea that last year didn't bloom at all. I can't remember the variety but it's the one the foxes dug up several years ago.

The zinnias are looking better, after a rather bedraggled start.

We only have one blooming Japanese anemone so far, the pink one. The white ones have buds but I haven't yet seen an open flower, aside from one blossom that had been baked to a crisp by the time I returned from Michigan last week. I think they've struggled with the hot, dry summer.

The red-hot pokers, on the other hand, are from South Africa, so hot and dry doesn't faze them. So far only one plant is blooming, the one off the patio. The other bas been enveloped by a stand of persicaria so it gets less sun and hasn't done as well.

Our cardoon managed to eke out a couple of flowers but it also hasn't looked great this year. The dog tends to break the plant apart when walking through the flower beds -- I need to put up some barriers to protect it.

To help you experience the joys of our rainfall yesterday, here's a video:

Yes, I actually walked around in the rain. I didn't care. It felt so good. You'll see that some plants -- the teasels, the lupines, some of the buddleias and crocosmias -- are looking pretty terrible. Others -- like the yellow rudbeckia, which I only recently bought, or the canna lily at the end -- look pretty good. And yes, our sunflower is finally starting to bloom! I'm waiting for the flower to get a bit bigger before I photograph it.