Summer lull...

 No bears since last weekend.  I can't say I am not disappointed.  There are lots of bees and summer flowers.

Phlox is one of my favorite flowers.  The scent is amazing.  The hummingbird moth is never far away.  They also love the phlox.

The chipmunks planted these petunias.  They are always surprising me.

I have many acorn squash and zucchini.  My carrots, beans,  and tomatoes are in full swing.

How are your flower gardens?  How are your vegetable gardens?  I know I need to stop eating the tomatoes and start broiling and freezing them.  

There are bears in them there woods...

 Last night my husband awoke to the sound of my birdseed bin crashing.  He had been ready, as something had tipped it over the night before.  We anticipated some wayward racoons.  He was not prepared for what he found.

That's right.  A big black bear.  We aren't supposed to have bears here, but I guess someone forgot to tell him.  I'm pretty sure he has been around awhile.  Unfortunately, due to the early hailstorm there are absolutely no berries anywhere.  I don't know what else he has to eat until the acorns ripen.  We watched him for about 20 minutes and then scared him off.  It was truly amazing.  I am blessed we had the chance to watch him, but we don't want him to get in trouble.  My greenhouse is shut up tight, the seed is gone, the bird feeders in the house, and trash can in the garage.  Hopefully he won't find my sweet corn and beans.  I'm sure he will be back tonight, but hopefully he will realize there is nothing to see here and move on.  Still, I am thankful we had a chance to see him up close.

On the road again...

 I had no plans to go anywhere this summer and yet it seems I've been on the road every other week.  Last week I was in Darby, Montana conducting a training.  It is beautiful country with wonderful people.  

Every day I drove by the set of the show Yellowstone.  It takes away some of the magic when you find out everything is only 200 feet off the highway.

This was the same creek.  One side of the island was calm and soothing. Below is the other side which was fast moving and rushed.  

I went for a hike up Tin Cup trail and enjoyed the jaunt immensely.  The trees were monstrous.  I was busy identifying all of the fauna along the trail.

My husband, as always, was amazing and kept my plants watered during 100 degree temps.  He even sent visual proof of his efforts.

Everything was happy and healthy when I returned.  He even managed to sand, stain, and caulk a majority of the west side of our cabin.  This side always takes the brunt of hail, rain, and snowstorms.  I was impressed with his progress.

I had a pleasant surprise on Saturday when my birthday present from last year arrived.  My sister got me a gift certificate for Sutton Iris company.  Needless to say I got them in the ground.  The timing was perfect, as we got a nice thunderstorm last night.

Did you have any surprises this week?  Did you do any traveling?  Any hikes or gardening?  I hope you had a great week.