Buntings On The 4th Of July

 We awoke to a morning with high humidity which meant that David and the pups needed to go for their morning walk EARLY.  Once the sun is high in the sky the mumbling and grumblings begin, so I'm super glad when they are off and trotting down the road by 7AM.

 I hurried off to Wal-Mart since I had seen a couple of weeks ago that they had red, white and blue buntings which I wanted for our deck this year. 

 I had hoped to purchase at least four, but there were only two left on the shelves... which I snatched right up!  I'm not sure why I delayed in making this purchase when I saw them two weeks ago.  Live and learn I suppose you could say.  But two works, and perhaps next year they will have the same buntings.

 Once home, David hung them for me right away.  He's my good doo bee man.

 

Along with the small flags, the buntings add just the right amount of patriotism to the deck.

Later he used the leaf blower and cleaned the entire driveway... we have a tree that sheds and annoys him, and once it's all blown off the paving it just looks bee yoo tee ful.

Rowdy noticed I was at the bottom of the drive and came to say Hello.  He's a Mama's boy for sure.

 Now we are awaiting the rhubarb and raspberry crisp to come out of the oven. We used rhubarb from our garden and the wine berries, which are simply wild raspberries that also grow on our property. 

Can't wait to taste the crisp!!

It should be somewhat patriotic looking with all that red inside.

 We are keeping the 4th of July menu simple as pie this year.

Hot dogs on the grill in yummy buns with lots of mustard, relish and onions,

some deviled eggs,

homemade cabbage slaw,

and for dessert the rhubarb raspberry crisp.

Come on over and enjoy the view from the porch and deck

and the delicious summery food.

Happy 4th Of July!!

How About A Hydrangea Instead

 I went for a drive in search of a sunflower field, but I have not come across any in our area for a few years.

 So I headed home with these hydrangea photos from a local garden center instead.

 My own hydrangeas have done NOTHING for a couple of years.

They have been a complete disappointment to me.

 Sometimes you have to take what you can get when it comes to photographing living things in this world.

Hydrangeas are a good thing

BUT

I still hope to capture the elusive sunflower.

Full Swing In Bear Country

Summer weather is in full swing here in the southwestern area of Virginia.

Hazy, yet blue skies hang above the mountains filled with 98% humidity with afternoons bringing thunderstorms that crop up here and there making us all run indoors in front of our floor fans.... especially the fur covered pups.  They can't be left outdoors for too long or they overheat and pant for what seems to be forever.

I have started to take short walks with my husband during the early hours of the day, taking the pups along.  Our uphill driveway continues to be a source of discomfort for my knees so I park my SUV at the bottom of our driveway so that I can haul myself back home up the drive on our return.  So far this works for me.  

Summertime also means that the bears come out along with their cubs.... MANY bears throughout this area of the country, so my husband made the decision to purchase us each a container of bear spray just in case it should become necessary to defend ourselves. It is a strong spray of capsacin which will not harm the bear, but rather burn it's eyes and throat as it would with a human.....  the shot of spray is good for 30 feet.  If out and about in bear country I recommend this method of safe guarding yourself and there are a number of brands on the market.

Welcome to summer in my world.