For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Good morning everyone! It’s a wet morning, some thunderstorms have been going through the area since at least 2am. Hopefully some of this rain will fall on those forest fires. Unfortunately there has also been a lot of lightning which can also start new fires along the edges of storms where there isn’t much rain. Guess we will find out over the next couple of days. The rain seems to have kept things rather quiet around here this morning. No gulls have shown up, Slim hasn’t been around, and only one chipmunk has been here this morning, and that was Coffee. He seemed to be quite happy having that pile of peanuts all to himself.
Slim wasn’t around much yesterday, so the chipmunks had a good day gathering peanuts for winter storage. My poor flowers are having problems this year. They did have a good start, but things happen. Right now they are drowning with getting too much rain in a short time. My dianthus are not getting anywhere. It seems that Slim and at least 2 chipmunks enjoy eating the flower buds, so I’m not getting any flowers, just green leaves. Then there is the spider mites. I have never had a problem with spider mites on plants outside, only on plants inside. That’s because outside there are other bugs that eat spider mites.
Obviously those bugs are not around this summer, so the spider mites are taking over, and even though I am spraying them regularly with my homemade solution that works great for killing spider mites, it doesn’t seem to be working this year. Although I might be winning now. They did kill one of my dahlias, and the rest of the dahlias are not looking too good. And the spider mites have moved over to the geraniums now, I have never had spider mites on geraniums before. Usually they are quite bug free and disease free. Oh well, things happen. Muffin has certainly not been a happy kitty this morning, though she has stayed with me during the thunderstorms. They have stopped now so she decided it was nap time. Hmm, Sir Charles just showed up for his breakfast, but Sir George and Sir Henry have still not come, very odd indeed. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (top featured photo, a sunny but smoky day at the river)
Β©2021 Steve McLeod.
Good morning, Steve! My cats are terrified of thunderstorms. Luna hides under the bed. July was awful with all the fireworks, Venus was growling.
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Hi Laura! Yes, Muffin goes under the bed too as soon as she hears that thunder! But if it’s a real bad storm then she comes to me and stays with me the whole time. She also doesn’t like fireworks. Have a great day Laura! Muffin meows hi to all your cats!ππΊπββ
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They’ll stop by before they head back south.ππ
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Thank you, Steve π A nice day for you, Muffin, birds, etc π amitiΓ©s
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Thanks so much Francefougere! Have a wonderful Friday now! Amities!ππΊπββ
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ThursdayΓ’ΒΒs Thoughts #12.
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Letβs hope the rain puts out those fires
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It should help for some of the smaller fires, won’t do much for those big fires though. But more rain overnight, then a return to warm and dry.
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Sounds better
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Yes indeed!
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Steve, it seems this summer has been filled with many natural challenges. I am keeping up with the wildfires situation in my beloved Montana. While central Ohio is spared fires, our morning skies have frequently been a smoky white haze.
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Smoke is thick here again, red sun, every day like that it seems. Yes, it has been quite the summer, all sorts of challenges. Enjoy your evening!
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Lovely flowers ! This has been a strange year…weather- wise and bug-wise…and restrictions , government restrictions…have a trouble-free sleep ! π€π»ππ΄
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A different year for sure. Thanks so much! Sleep well!ππΊπ
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It’s a big treat for Coffee today π oh bad, didn’t expect spider mites this serious, you should spray more often thenπ€ or how about grow some bugs that could eat spiders π 2021 is a terrible year for nature as well as humans it seems π but remember to have fun all the time π Have a peaceful evening β¨π€π€
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Very inspiring ππ·beautiful Zeenia flowers and your lovely explanation ππ·
Rain came and you can relax from the heat , so nice ,Take care and Happy Friday ππ·
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Thank you so much!ππΊ Yes, some relaxing from the heat and hopefully it helps with the forest fires too. Have a very happy weekend!ππΊπββπΌ
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Yes, there hope so ππ·Happy weekend to you too π·πβ€οΈππΊ
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ππΊπ»ππΌπΊ
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so I guess from your picture you have been able to make it down to the river. I am sure despite the haze it was worth the trip…
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Actually that picture was from a week ago, no trips to the river this week unfortunately. But hopefully this coming week will be different. It was a nice day that time though, even with the strong smoke smell and haze. Sometimes I get there and it’s so nice I don’t want to come back!πππ²
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I hope you get there this week!
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I will certainly try.
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