ABBA-cadabra

 The last of my poppies are blooming.

For weeks, their crinkled, lettuce-like leaves have elongated and unfurled.  Really, the leaves are so pretty that the flowers are completely extraneous.  The buds are heavy and gorgeous, too.  

Then overnight, the frizzy flowers flame and then wilt quickly.  They frizz, and then frowse, in a day or two.  Poppies don't like the heat much.  But that red is gorgeous against the blue of the forget-me-nots!

The chartreuse of bupleurum is a nice backdrop.  It's a lovely plant, with its tiny yellow-cupped flowers on top...

...and its lily pad-like leaves at regular intervals along the stem.

They're putting on a good show, but as the heat continues and intensifies without even a hint of rain, I know that they won't be around for long.  Todd has continued to plow up land for me...

...and last week, I direct-seeded hundreds of celosia, cosmos, and zinnias.  Sometimes I was a bit heavy-handed with my seeding...

...but it will be easy to spread them around.  I also seeded hundreds of sunflowers, and the first few have unfurled already.  I'll have to be diligent, because I've seen the warning signs in the garden...

Deer.  As soon as the sunflowers are a few inches tall, I'll have to continually lay down Liquid Fence...and cross my fingers.

Despite the heat and the ticks, it's been nice to work outside, especially since we had a few days of unseasonably cool weather.  So many butterflies...

...and bees.

Random single poppies...

...and other interesting plant bunches, like this nigella, are easier to enjoy at ground level.

One of my favorite things about working in the garden early in the day is the gnat swarms.  They are positively poetic as they shape-shift a few feet above the ground, like bird swarms in miniature.

Gnats sleep in the meadow grasses until they're warmed by the sun.  Then they rise and congregate.  

They are a real pleasure to watch!

Claudia watches me work from some cool perch.

Inside, the kittens are growing and continuing to charm us with their antics.  They love being in the bathtub...

...and are quite a pair of scamps!  They fit right in with our random naps.

Calliope has found a new sleeping spot to avoid their bothersome attention.  It's...on top of my newly-cut fabric.

Oh, well!  We've enjoyed gorgeous cloud formations this week...

...and even managed a quick concert.  ABBA, of course, or the closest thing to them...a cover band.

All in all, June is shaping up nicely.

Have a great week!