in the garden today~

its hot this week, back up to 100 degrees, perfect time to stroll with the dogs, snap some pics, pick some fruit and call it an early garden day...

 

 

the honeycrisps are the size of baseballs

 

 

started planting a red garden on the side of the casita. genie, my giraffe was very busy this year, she hosted bird nests in her head and a wasp nest in her back...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have hundreds of dragonflies, decided to move the bench under an oak so I could enjoy it from afar as I watched them flit about the rose garden...

 

 

 

 

 

the trees are filled with olives

 

 

my neighbors goats admiring the cooling view ...

 

 

I have never seen so many vultures in my life, called a committee, I counted 55 overhead, it was like a 747 flying over and blocking the sun. the group stayed a few weeks, its dropped back to a couple dozen this week. we live in fire country, this doesn't make me happy to see them sunning on the power poles, their wing span is almost 6', easy to hit both wires and spark a fire. at one point three were sharing this pole, I was out there barking and making screeching calls to scare them off, two left, this one laughed at me... being on the top of a steep hill they fly the thermals all day long, they swoop down to just feet above my backyard then soar all day long.

 

 

with the heat I lave learned to really appreciate the shade this avenue of silk trees offer, smothered in summer flowers it a haven for hummingbirds, the woodpeckers have a lovely nest at eye level as an extra bonus. I can hear the babies chattering 100 hundred feet away.

 

 

my property is surrounded with this irrigation ditch, just the sound and sight of water is cooling on a hot day...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

although it looks dry and dusty, its a riot of color in spring, I planted almost 1000 iris this summer, doubling what I had this spring.

 

 

 

you can spy some on the constant vultures in flight on the right