Tuesday This and That

Ahhhh!  

A break in the heat. 

It's most welcome after dealing with 70-plus temperatures over the past two nights and triple digits in the day time. 

The air toward the east is pretty hazy, and I detected a faint smell of smoke when I first walked outside this morning. 

Forest fires are burning in the region.  One of my friends, a travel agent, had to be evacuated from Jasper National Park in Canada because of a wildfire. 

We were very fortunate last year to avoid smoke in the air, but not so lucky this year. 

The weather people said last night, however, that cooler temperatures (mainly 80s) should drive away the smoke.  

Hope so. 

My flowers continue to take a hit from the heat.  Maybe today's cool down will help them out. 

It's been a while since I visited Wood's Hay and Grain on HWY 95 north, but yesterday I went there to deliver something. 

I was amazed at the changes since my last visit. 

All very attractive, to say the least. 

Below:  Bert's cows found the best place yesterday to avoid a muggy and hot afternoon. 

Annie has posted a second installment to her Camino 2024 blog.  

Now, it's less than a month until our daughter sets off from France and walks 500 miles across Northern Spain. 

Is she ready?  You can read about her preparation by clicking on the link below. 

And, if you want to receive updates to her blog, especially while she is walking, sign up. 

 https://adventuregirlannie.com/

Twas a great picking day yesterday. Almost a full baggy of raspberries went in the freezer. 

We ate fresh green beans with new potatoes and Wood's German sausage for dinner---hence a full neighborhood meal. 

As continually perspiration dripped from my face and other body parts last evening, I picked at least a quart of blueberries. 

While that was happening, the blueberries picked the day before were drying in the oven.  This morning I mixed them with some trail mix. 

Pretty tasty. 

I have yet to capture a good picture of this family of peacocks, but we do know that they have taken up residence here at the Lovestead. 

We see them three or four times a day in the west lawn area.  During one of yesterday's sightings, Mama was on the steps right next to the sliding-glass door. 

Occasionally, we hear their distinct voice, which, if they got too talkative, could get rather annoying. 

One of these days, when they don't scurry off in a hurry, I'll get some better photos.  

For now, it's just fun to enjoy their visits. This morning Mama was sitting on the top board of the fence, while one of the babies was occupying the second board. 

Little Foster is totally relaxed and content to be back home after his weekend at the pet hotel.  

Foster has a man cave for keeping cool on hot days amidst the shrubs on our deck.  The dogs have developed it over the past couple of years.  

I discovered that he was enjoying the man cave yesterday while watering.  Suddenly something started moving beneath the shrubs.  It was Foster.