The other sports are just sports.  Baseball is a love.  ~Bryant Gumbel

 And what could be better than an old tractor?

An old red tractor.

~ Happiness is never stopping to think if you are.  ~Palmer Sondreal

We had my cyber friends for lunch at Garden Shoes Online today. 

Carol and Pete (owners of Garden Shoes Online) graciously hosted a lunch for my blogging pals so they could come and see our business in action.

Kathy Purdy, Jenn Fowler, Donalyn Ketchum, Nicki Conroy and myself ~ It all started about a year ago when Kathy, of Cold Climate Gardening contacted me and after several email conversations, invited me to join her and two other local bloggers (Jenn and Donalyn) for lunch.  Soon after, Kathy also included Nicki whom she met at jury duty.  So our little group began and we try to meet monthly for lunch. 

 I can easily say they have been mentors for me as I attempt to navigate this social media world. We have a lot of fun every time as we learn from each other and laugh with each other about the ins and outs of blogging, facebook, twitter and life in general. 

  So the day was snowy, the company wonderful, the lunch delicious(thanks Carol and Pete and Debbie too~ it looked wonderful) and they all got to meet Gracie my little side~kick who was a very good granddaughter and slept through most of the hours of fun.

~If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone.  A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.  ~Samuel Johnson

My garden this month has been doing  pretty well. 

My rose bush has been blooming well all summer.

 I have had some heat casualties but I try to focus on the good things,

 like my four oclocks that I grew from seed. 

And the nasturtiums that really did well this summer for me,

although in the past I wasn’t so lucky. 

The vegetables haven’t been a bumper crop,

but there is enough for my family to enjoy fresh veggies so far. 

  My hdrangeas bloomed well as long as I kept them watered.

 Lack of rain has dettered a few plants while others seemed to thrive on the heat. 

 I for one will not complain about a hot summer.

  I just wish it wasn’t coming to a close. 

Hope your summer has been flower filled, fruitful and fun.

~”There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.”
~ Celia Thaxter 

Visit MsGreen “thumb”Jean for Bloomin Tuesday

Visit Garden Blogger’s Blooms Day with Carol of May Dreams Garden.

 This week has been another hot one. 

 Some of my plants aren’t faring as well as others but there are still plenty churning out the blooms. 

I had to do a lot of weeding and deadheading this week but it’s all good,

as long as I can garden,

 I am not complaining. 

Too soon I will be indoors watching it snow and wishing I was out in the yard working up a sweat over spent flowers and weeds.   

One of the things I find myself doing in August is realizing  the end of summer is almost here,

so I spend a little more time absorbing the garden and how great it is to be out there. 

I hope you are enjoying these dog day afternoons as well. 

~”Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

~Russel Baker

 

Visit Tootsie Time for Fertilizer Friday

Although many of my plants are giving a wonderful dose of color to the garden,

 I can’t help but enjoy a few of my pots that are bursting with color also.  

I have had a few casualties due to the heat this summer, but most have not only survived, but also thrived in the heat. 

Container gardening can be very rewarding with many kinds of plants. 

The trick is to choose plants that share similar requirements such as light, water and sunshine, and put them in to quality soil that has very good drainage. 

 Keep them watered, give adequate amounts of sun, fertilize occasionally and they should reward you with wonderful flowers and lush greenery until the end of the summer. 

 Speaking of that, I couldn’t believe I saw mums in the store already, 

I am not quite ready for that, 

not yet anyway.

~”Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
-   William Shakespeare 

  After a couple of well needed rainy days, the weather has been wonderful.

These past two days, it’s hot but with low humidity so you can actually enjoy being outdoors. 

 I was finally able to catch up on my yard work and see what is going on out there. 

I have plenty of blooms putting on their show as well as weeds that needed to be pulled. 

The flowers make the weeding all the easier with their cheerful little faces. 

My muscles may be sore from all the weeding I am finally able to get done, but when I look out at the garden…

all is right with the world.

~”Summer is a promisary note signed in June, it’s long days spent and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January.”~ Hal Borland

Visit Tootsie Time for Fertilizer Friday

 Here are a few of the blooms happening today in my garden. 

They just happen to all be

RED!:) 

Have I mentioned that’s my favorite color?

 ~” ‘Tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes!”~William Wordsworth

 Dahlias are great flowers.

 They come in all sizes and colors. 

They grow from tubers you plant in spring after all chances of frost is over. 

 Dahlias require soil with good drainage and  they do well in partial to full sun. 

Dahlias are not hardy, so they must be dug up before the first frost.  They can be stored and replanted the following year.

They are one plant that I add every year to my own garden because they are so dependable and rewarding. 

~”When words escape, flowers speak.”
-   Bruce W. Currie

Visit Lisa’s Chaos for Macro Monday pictures.