Relief!

After a week of really nasty, hot, humid weather, we had a storm blow through last night and cool things off. We didn't get quite as much rain as we could have used, but today was beautiful--very low 80s, humidity around 50%, and a very nice breeze. I should have done some painting, but mostly I sat around enjoying the weather while the dogs played outside.


Cute Mr. T story: We came in, and the water bowl in the bathroom was dry, so I filled it for them. Taenzer, as top dog, took over and started to drink. Timber stood looking at her, cocked his head, then trotted out into the living room and started barking. Taenzer charged out to see what he was barking at and take over the alerting duties, and Timber trotted back into the bathroom and got his drink. Smart, sneaky boy!

Also furry. This is the result of a 15-minute session with the shedding rake. Considering how much he hates it, he was very good about it. I think instead of having him shaved I'm going to just get him a bath, blow-dry, and comb-out, and try to get rid of as much undercoat as possible.

The daylilies have started to bloom. This is Hyperion in front of the Asiatic lilies.

Hyperion is one of my favorite daylilies--it's a vintage type, has a slight sweet scent, and is my favorite shade of yellow, sort of lemon-ice--a cool yellow, as opposed to the hot gold of Stella d'Oro. This is a bit too pale

I don't know the name of this daylily. The same nice old gentleman who gave me my blue iris gave me this daylily. It looks a bit pink here, but it's actually sort of lion-tawny with rust brushmarks. Neither is the foliage so blue. I guess I need to get out the camera instructions and see if there isn't some way to reset the colors. It's interesting to see the difference in shape of the flowers of the two different varieties.

Most of my Asiatic lilies this year are cream-colored, but there are a few other colors. I do like this yellow one with spots.

I'm not so fond of this one--it makes me a little queasy, for some reason. I'd like to dig them up and give them away, replace them with something else.

The Casa Blanca lilies haven't opened yet, but this beautiful Oriental did. Of course it promptly melted in the heat, but it was beautiful for a couple of days. That's lavender blooming in front of it.

It's supposed to be cooler this week, so I may take a few days off and see about getting some painting done.