Homebody and Pigeon Undertaker

The New York Times ran an article yesterday headlined, "In Britain, July 4 is Mostly Just a Saturday." It said that while some cultural institutions like museums made brief mentions of the Fourth of July and the King issued a statement, British people basically just went about their business.

I thought, do we really need to tell readers that the United Kingdom doesn't celebrate America's independence from...the United Kingdom? I mean, British people don't take it personally or anything, but why would there be a celebration? It seemed a strange and unnecessary article to write.

We totally ignored the Fourth of July here. As I said in a comment on Bob's blog, when America gives me something to celebrate, I'll celebrate.

It was also the day of the LGBTQ+ Pride parade in London, which I've gone to many times in years past, but this year I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm. I think taking that long walk on Friday -- and the fact that we're leaving tomorrow for two weeks in the Mediterranean -- made me want to just stay home. So I did.

I finished "Juice," which I greatly enjoyed. I don't think I'm even going to take a book with me on the cruise. I have such a backlog of magazines that I'm just going to bring them -- nine New Yorkers and my Royal Photographic Society magazine. Maybe I'll stick a small paperback in my suitcase just in case, by some miracle, I get through all of those.

As you can see in the top photo, our lilies are blooming. I've always called these Stargazer lilies but the other day, out of the blue, Dave called them "chandelier" lilies, and they do point downward -- so maybe that's what they are. When I Google "chandelier lilies" I just get pictures of floral lighting fixtures, so I'm not sure.

Anyway, the lily beetles have gnawed holes in some of the blossoms but they still look nice. The one in the top photo looks positively virile. Above is a Cosmos with the afternoon sun illuminating its petals.

I hope all these plants survive our absence. Any little bit of rain would help but there's none in the forecast.

In other garden happenings, I found a dead pigeon on the lawn about two days ago. It had clearly been attacked and killed by something. Coming just a few days after I found the remains of a young starling, it's more evidence that a hunter is in our midst -- whether feline or vulpine I do not know. I buried it in the "wildlife zone" by the back garden wall.

Our rat-deterring peppermint oil pellets arrived yesterday, too. The package takes great pains to explain these are mostly for "freshening" rodent-invaded spaces -- I suppose so we don't complain if they don't successfully drive away the rodents -- but it says they do disrupt scent trails and make the rats uncomfortable. I showered them all over the garden by the handful, particularly near the house, and now it smells like candy canes out there. We don't have a full-on invasion so I'm hopeful they'll be effective.

I picked my first handful of blackberries from our vines yesterday morning. Blackberry season -- just in time for us to leave! Oh well. Hopefully the birds will enjoy them. (Especially now that we've taken down the feeders.)