Raspberries

This year has been a phenominal year for raspberries; in fact Chris has stopped picking them as we can't keep up with them.  I have frozen more bags than I can count, and we have had fresh raspberries with everything, and I have mastered raspberry crisp.  However, I have outdone myself with my own creation of a raspberry bavarian cream pie - with chocolate crust.  What more can I say - we know that raspberry and chocolate are wonderfl together, and chocolate and red wine are a good match - so voila - the perfect desert:

In an English Country Garden

After neglecting the perennial garden for almost 2 years, it was time to get down to business. All the weeds were cut out, and the underbrush removed and voila, we found the stepping stones and more. No mercy was shown, and now that we are back on top of it, we can walk through the garden from one end to the other and next year will be a new beginning with a new focus.

Up Close

Chris spotted this Dragonfly in the garden and I managed to get a number of really good shots. Too hard to pick just one. It flew in and landed in front of Chris with a wasp in its mouth. By the time I ran and got the camera, the wasp was almost entirely eaten. Amazing!!

ANOTHER TIKI MAN

What would we do without garage sales!!! There are treasures to be found, and this one, found by my friend Susan, is just perfect for our Tiki-wanna-be patio!!! Not sure were he will live yet - we have tried several places as you can see.

Angel's Fishing Rods

I wait each year for these amazing blooms. "Dierama: is a perennial grass of some sort, with tall arching stems of bell-shaped, flowers. Each stem drops with the weight of the flowers which earns them the most romantic of names - Angel's Fishing Rods. The flowers bloom in shades of pink and mauve and occasionally white, and they hang above clumps of grey-green, grassy leaves. These flowers look like grass themselves when the buds first comes. Each bud expands into a pendant flower so graceful that it earns its other favorite name: Fairy wands. The stems may look delicate, but are actually very tough and are deer resistant. They are amazing to watch swinging in the breeze. I have them over the pond, so they are definitely my angel's fishing rods.

Ouch

When legs and weed whackers meet!! This is not recommended!

Hula Umbrella

Found a great straw hula umbrella for the patio on eBay!  It's big bit it just ads that bit of summer fun!!