Kiss the Joy as it flies... Blake's kind of morning.

The tomatoes are starting to turn red. Isn't this amazing? Give this heat loving plant the summer heat it desires and "Voila!", red tomatoes.

And so it is with the Moulin Rouge Sunflowers. They are happy with the summer heat and every morning they turn toward the East, as this radiant orb casts its light upon the farm, as if to proclaim the sun's arrival. Do flowers have rituals? Do they know what sustains them?

 
This bee is so beautiful against the white Agapanthus. It was early and many of them were still sleeping. What would it be like to sleep in a flower. The fragrance would be delightful. How do they hold on while they sleep.

My favorite bee is this one.... it's friendly and seems to like having humans around. They never get upset and I have had them crawl onto my hand without stinging. It's a bumble bee but I'm not sure what specific kind. Maybe a Golden Northern.

 This one loves the lavender. It's smaller than the black one and is probably a common Honey Bee. Very industrious, busy and brilliantly colored. They don't seem as friendly and when I started taking pictures this one buzzed and flew right at me, landing on my tee shirt. It stayed long enough for me to get a photo of it, then flew away, as if to say..."Don't get so close next time."

I guess it was just as curious about me as I was about him. Did you know that by passing food mixed with saliva to one another, members of a hive can chemically bond with each other? Is that like French kissing in the bee world? Did you also know that settlers brought the Honey Bee to North America in the 17th century. Just another immigrant, like my great-grandma. I love this stuff.

 Take a good look at this photo. My morning shadow made me look thin.  Thank you morning sun for elongating the shadow of my body and giving me a sense of slenderness that I find endlessly difficult to achieve in my everyday existence.
And as a parting shot..... Carl, the original "finders, keepers, losers, weepers" dog that The Prospector says "...does no wrong.".
I forgot to pick up my garden gloves and Mr. Opportunity found one of them. He would not look at me or drop the glove.  I had to chase him around the yard. I was so close a few times. But he would dart away when I got within reach of "his" prize glove. I finally grabbed him and got the glove. He seemed insulted. The other glove was missing. So was Cutter.... and Carl wasn't talking.
I finally found the other one in the house, on the table, where I had taken it off....Cutter was sleeping on the couch. How could I have blamed him for taking the other glove? Easy.... Carl is teaching him everything he knows. 

Carl with that "look".... and the glove.

Introducing Freckles. Painting the goat house and flowers in the garden.

First of all...., I want to tell you about one of our goats. This is Freckles. He is the smallest, sweetest Nubian of them all. Bart is " leader of the pack", Brownie is our lovable loner with an attitude and Murphy..., well you all know about Murphy: He's the celebrity( immortilized in verse and art at: terrybusse.blogspot.com on June 8).
Our little Freckles still wants a bottle of milk, cries like a baby when he gets a shot, and tags along behind Murph' like a lady in waiting. Freckles is my sweet baby. He always get pushed out of the way when there is hay or grain to eat but he just goes in at a different angle and eventually gets his fill. He's never pushy, he doesn't complain too much and he always seem to get along with the other goats, even when they are being..., well, you know..., goats. He's kind and gentle and he ALWAYS comes to me with that sweet look in his eyes and no ulterior motives. He loves to have his neck and head rubbed and I almost expect him to say "Thank You" afterwards. He's a truly good goat.


Yes, I'm still painting. The gray color is the primer. The red is what I WAS going to paint the whole shed but then I decided not to. I did a test section and thought that it was just too bright for the whole building. I think I would like a gray-brown color with white trim. I know I'm being a bit particular about this, but color is important, specially when I'm do'in it. Also, I might look at red differently if it wasn't in the high 90's this week. I'm almost done with the primer coat which is soaking into this siding like a sponge. Then I can get the top coat on. Then...., I can decorate my windowless wall with STUFF. I'm still open to ideas for "the big blank wall".

...., and, to close, I want to show you my flowers in the vegetable garden.
I still don't know what was eating the leaves on the sunflowers but the two survivors are blooming anyway. I planted two packages of sunflowers and these are the only ones left. I'm convinced the birds got the seeds in the ground but it's definitely a story of survival

So, my friends, be like the sunflower and turn toward the sun, show the world your wear and tear, and "Bloom where you are planted".