Whew!

FINALLY.  A break from the heat.  We had 22 days in July where the temperature reached 90 or above. 

And FINALLY some tomatoes!

These are from the Early Girl, although the salsa tomatoes are catching up.  And that is what I have been eating lately:  salsa, made with garlic and onions from the garden.  The Georgia Fire is supposed to be good for salsa, but I'm using up the damaged garlic bulbs first, and I did not keep track of which was which.  In my book, all garlic is good.

Earlier this summer I contemplated purchasing a picnic table, primarily so I would have some place for tomatoes to sun themselves.  I never got around to pulling the trigger on that purchase, but a neighbor left this table by the street, free for the taking.

The only problem is the patio gets so brutally hot in the afternoon that the tomatoes actually cooked.  I really need a pergola.

This is the time of year I see the most goldfinch.  They love the coneflowers and the sunflowers.

I have hung finch feeders outside in the winter, but rarely do any birds show interest.  The other day, I found out why:  niger thistle gets stale.  I purchased mine from a pet food store several years ago, and since the birds would not eat it, it never ran out.  (What is the definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.)  Now I will discard the old and get some fresh, but only a little bit at a time.

This is the first year I have planted sunflowers with abandon, as in previous years they would get nibbled on by rabbits.  But now my yard is rabbit free.  Or WAS.  Last night my SO spotted a baby one near this sunflower.  It looked almost too little to be out of the nest, which is probably why it was able to squeeze into my yard.  Now what?!?

Almost everything in my yard is girded by poultry netting, even the tulip tree.  I'm glad I take that extra precaution, because this tree is starting to look like a TREE, a giver of shade.

A nursery man once tole me NOT to plant a tulip tree because the bark is soft and it won't flower for years.  But the tulip is not only our state tree (at least, for now - I think my son told me they are contemplating changing that), it also serves as a host plant for the tiger swallowtail butterfly and the promethea moth yet is ignored by other insects.  And it is a fast grower.  C'mon, shade tree!

It took a while, but now that the Brown Eyed Susans are established, they are popping up in areas beyond the meadow.

East side of the fence

 The columbine is spreading, too.  Both plants complement just about anything they are near.

West side of the fence

This one is hiding the 'Love Pat' hosta, a hosta I plan on moving, once I get a round tuit.