Every Blooming THing, End of August

The Dog Days of Summer aren't so doggy this year as we have had plenty of rain.  Usually, in early July, I raise the blades on the riding mower from 2 1/2 inches to three inches and start cutting every 1 1/2 weeks to two weeks.

This year, I am still cutting at 2 1/2 inches and every week, except this past one when we were in Galena, Illinois.

I still have to pressure wash the deck and stain it as well as cut most of the part of the Bradford pear tree that blew down last fall.  Of course, I am still working on on the flower beds.  That is a never-ending job, but I enjoy it.  But bees are getting to be a bit of a problem right now as the goldenrods and sedum are blooming.

Unfortunately, my crabapple trees continue losing their leaves.  The one in the northwest corner berm has lost just about all of its leaves as has the one at the southeast corner.  I found out the leaf loss is caused by a fungus that gets much worse during rainy times, which is what we had in spring and July.

The black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers are still blooming and the mums are starting to bloom.  I also have a pink/purple perennial starting to bloom.

Today, a chipper (what we call the chipmunks) come up to me or a peanut.  I like to go out to the deck and eat peanuts in the shell and have been tossing them a few.  Guess they want more.

--RoadDog

LIFE'S LITTLE TRUTHS:  One of life's mysteries is how a two pound box of candy makes you gain five pounds.