Well, Dave made it back from the states safe and sound, so our little family is complete once again. Bailey not only remembered him but was positively joyous at his return, jumping up to give him kisses and climbing into his lap in the recliner. I think she sees Dave as the "fun dad," as she always runs to him with toys and when she wants to roughhouse. I'm not much of a roughhouser, it's true.
I'm giving you a picture of her relaxing on the couch because Dave doesn't love having his picture taken, and I was struck by the light in the living room at that moment. We do get good sunlight in this flat.
Things are still dry as a bone. When I went to the cemetery with Bailey yesterday I found these desiccated blackberries hanging from the vine. There's just no stray moisture out there at all. There's rain in the forecast (a 33 percent chance) in about ten days, so we'll see if that comes to fruition.
This is one of our buddleias. Isn't that the saddest looking thing you've ever seen? And I've watered it multiple times! We have another one that looks just as bad. I hope they make it.
We have had a few more tiny gardening successes, though -- and I mean literally tiny. This is one of the sunflowers, the last to bloom. The flower is only about as big around as a half-dollar -- but hey, we got a flower! I like that it's a sort of rusty brown compared to the other two, which are bright yellow.
And here's our last zinnia, which is only about a foot high. It produced this purple flower the size of a quarter. I'm glad these last few seedlings finally made good.
Dave went to sleep early last night, so I watched "The Graduate" again for approximately the five thousandth time. That movie never gets old.
My mother loved that film, her name was Mrs Robinson and she has similar morals.
ReplyDeleteÀ good film.. One of the classics.
ReplyDeleteI love the colour of that sunflower... it glows!
Thought my Buddleias looked bad but yours is worse!
ReplyDeleteI bet it won't die as they grow through cracks in concrete.
To answer your question, your picture of the buddleia is not the saddest thing I have ever seen - not by a long way. Compared with funerals, the aftermath of earthquakes, beached whales, starving children, the thoughtless demolition of the East Wing of The White House, a dead cat by the side of the road and a gravestone containing the names of five little children - no, your buddleia comes way, way down the pecking order of sadness.
ReplyDeleteMy blackberries are slightly better, still small and hard, not a great time. It's a brutal year for growing anything.
ReplyDeleteWe're also desperate for rain. O.K. predicts that it'll rain the entire two weeks of our holiday in September when we will be hiking in the mountains in Austria - weather permitting...
ReplyDeleteNice to know Bailey was happy to see Dave back home!
Your plants have certainly been well and truly dried out. Buddleias are pretty hardy so hopefully they'll bounce back eventually.
ReplyDeleteRain in 10 days possibly? How awful. I hope there’s a surprise in store. Those poor gardens (not to mention the suffering people). That first photo is art.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a brutal growing year. Here we've had extreme heat but also extreme downpours, so everything is green and lush, especially the weeds.
ReplyDeleteTime for a cuddle and a nap.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for you, we have been getting unseasonable rains for this time of year. As a result, everything is lush and green and the crops look fantastic. Hopefully you can take them back in another month or so to allow for things to dry up for harvest to begin.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Dave made it back safe & sound! We watched one of our feel-good movies last night - Battleship. So dumb! So satisfactory!
ReplyDeleteI know Dave was pleased to see that Bailey has not forgotten him at all.
ReplyDeleteOur rains have tapered off and although we are not yet dry, we aren't getting that regular afternoon break in the temperature which rain brings. Those blackberries are just sad.
Happy Girl - Gorgeous Light - And Top Shelf Movie - Outstanding Update
ReplyDeleteGet Rowdy Brother Reed ,
Cheers
Dave must be happy to be home. How soon does school start for him?
ReplyDeleteNext year I think I will get drought resistant plants instead of thirsty ones. It has bee dry but cold here. We have had to water a lot. You may be more of a cat person, dogs require as much as infant humans I find. They are emotional creatures. Cats, not entirely...Personally I would get two kittens if not for the NEW sofa!!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to be all together again and complete.
ReplyDeleteThe sunflower is gorgeous.
The light in your living room is very pleasing. It's so sad to see the plants struggling like that. I'm used to it here but not when I visit there. We had rain last night and it came down pretty heavily for a while. We also had lots and lots of lightening. It woke me up around 12:30 and I watched it carry on for about an hour.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Bailey's reaction to Dave getting home made him feel good. He was probably worried that she would treat him like a stranger.
ReplyDeleteThe dappled light through your houseplants looks lovely. I've been using all my washing up water to water the planters at my front door, over the course of a day each planter gets half a bowl full, it's keeping everything from getting too desiccated ... just about.
ReplyDeleteI love the way that the light filters in! That must have been wonderful for Dave to get such an exuberant greeting. My cat is always happy to see me after an absence; she meows constantly and won't leave my side.
ReplyDeleteI have always told our pets about the Fun Daddy and the Mean Daddy, though the positions varied from time to time.
ReplyDeleteThe sunlight in your flat is wonderful. The plants must love it too.
ReplyDeleteBailey looks very comfy resting in the sunlight and laying comfortably on the couch.
Dave's big welcome home greeting sounds great; he must have been thrilled.
It is dry here too. No rain for days is hard. Oddly enough, at night it is dewy and I think that is helping the gardens.
Your Buddleias are sadly suffering the lack of rain. I hope they bounce back when the rain comes.
Glad Dave made it back safely and that Bailey was delighted to see him.
ReplyDeleteFor me, any movie with Ann Bancroft is a good movie. She was a gem.
Good to know that Dave made it back safely and that he was greeted enthusiastically by Bailey. The drought has really played havoc with your plants but the sunflower was a beautiful standout.
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