Solstice, Plants & Pudding

I began this morning by following a house down Kipling Street. This was followed by a series of mishaps in the kitchen; nothing serious, just vexing and messy.
I came home and made a variation of my Great grandmother Eva's Peach Pudding. I call it Blackberry Creamsicle pudding ( I'll get the recipe onto Cakes & Wine. Eventually.) Messiness continued as I learned that the pudding does not travel well in a picnic basket. It was delicious though. Our Solstice ritual was lovely, albeit a bit sticky.


If we were still playing Shadowshot Sunday, this would be my entry.

The garden continues to flourish. These iris were planted about five years ago. This is the first year they've bloomed.

This tiny blue flower is the latest of the Faery Meadow mix to bloom. It's a California Bluebell.

Fancy pink poppies.

Mini reflecting balls.

Ganging Aglee isn't always a bad thing....

I was a bit miffed when there was a scheduling snafu for Puppy's vaccination appointment. But, if had gone as planned, we wouldn't have been at the park in time for me to take this:

egret and dragonfly

Or this:

Very red dragonfly

Or this:

dragon nymph/damsel fly

We might also have been caught in the torrential downpour currently going on outside. Puppy hates being caught in the rain and thunder even more than shots. So everything has worked out fine.

Goslings & Ducklings & Faeries, Oh My!

One can't spend the entire weekend working in the garden (pulling weeds while being swarmed by tiny green bugs is not happy fun time) so we escaped to the park this morning. This is not the most in-focus dragonfly photo I've taken, but I love the transparency of the wings. This was the only cooperative dragonfly today.

The snow melt is well underway. Most of the year this part of the creek is shallow and clear. Not right now. This is the Goose Family's version of white water rafting. I did not get a photo of the goslings jumping off the bank into the creek. Their tiny wings don't work well for gliding; it was more of a plummeting into the water.

A domestic goose has integrated into the flock of Canadian geese.

See how tiny the wings are in comparison to the body? Geese are so cute at this awkward, fuzzy stage.

These are not Mallards, but I don't know what kind of ducks they are.

I finally got around to replacing the faery house. The last one I made was crushed by the snow over the winter. I went with a woven house this year. I haven't done basket weaving since fourth grade. It's very soothing. Perhaps that's why it's so popular in mental institutions.

This is the beginning of the roof. Kitty enjoys basket weaving. Actually, what he enjoys is playing with the reeds as one is trying to work.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but that's a beaded swing.

The finished house.

I've neglected my novel since beginning my new job (which is going very well). So tomorrow, I am taking the day off from manual labor (six days a week is plenty!) and concentrating on the book . I may have to work at the library; sometimes it's easier to work away from home. I have 24 days before the deadline. One of the characters has decided to change species. Sigh.