Now it's squirrels and deer and snakes in the yard; fava beans and fennel from the farm; record rain and high water in the creek. I love this time of year.

The little garden in the back yard has given us some kale, collards, peas and tomatoes so far and I really hope the okra makes it this year.

Yum yum! We found the Comida food truck at Marisol Imports First Friday event. Earlier today I found some blue glass pieces at the new Goodwill in town. I love this time of year, even though I know the end of summer is getting closer and I'll have to move to an indoor pool. In the yard, we have blooming hyssop, yarrow, gallardia, rudbekia, echinacea, zinnias, blue mist spirea, honeysuckle, tomatoes, petunias, butterfly bush, geraniums, portulaca,lavendar, roses, chicory, mint, 4 o'clocks, that purple sage flower, and the maximillian daisies are about to bloom. The bees are pretty happy these days.

That didn't take long.
Sweetie was just a concept in my mind a short time ago and here he is, his own creation: a husband.

The chickens at the CSA farm are still busy. We extended the season with a Fall Share and this week we got some great greens and root veggies plus fresh pork and honey.

It's not all been flowers and mountain lions and snow lately. People have been moving out, in with their fiances and moving away to big California cities. When Sugar came back from LA, the business picked up so we're having a little off season boomlet (thanks Google Ads). I have a feeling the market is slowly recovering - we're not doing a lot of huge jobs (some) but a lot of middle sized jobs. And, I'm making a little money trading stocks! Pocket change, really, but what a change of viewpoint - to look forward to stock prices going down so I can buy some more. Sort of like running toward a disaster while everyone else is running away.

January Thaw at the Dog Park.  What a gorgeous day!  Luckily there were some piles of snow to cool down in nearby.

2009 ~ we've turned a corner.  The year in my mind goes left to right from January to May, then down to about October, then curves around to December - sort of a right angle but not really.  January is definitely up and and the front.    

We spent the afternoon putting up some lattice on the back yard fence to help us pretend that we're invisible on our highly visible corner lot. Hoppin' John, hoecakes and greens for lunch should ensure a properous year for us.  It was 50º today and will be warmer tomorrow.  Hope everybody remembers to hope and dream and make the dreams come true this year.

It is so friggin' hot and dry:  7% humidity outside and 90º on my thermometer in the shade.  I've been making sure the birds have water but it's a task to keep everything else watered.   The city of Boulder has a policy this year of penalizing over-watering, but you don't have any way to know when you're about to go over the limit.  I'm usually under the limit,  but it's hard to tell.

We spent some time at the Boulder creek yesterday and soaked in the sounds and negative ions from the burbling water.   It took my mind off my crunchy grass at home.

This picture from wikimedia.org really does it justice.  

The Dog Days of Summer.  This is the 15th day of 90º plus temps.

This sign of summer was new to me, though I imagine it's been there for years. When the sunset shines on my washing machine, it must be pretty high in the sky. It's in a northwest room of my house. Next year I'll track the progress - maybe this will be my personal Stonehenge.