by Marja-Leena 
This afternoon’s moment of shapely shadows playing on white curtain,
recalling yesterday’s fleeting, precious ephemeral instant:
a hummingbird’s shadow,
too quick to be captured with camera,
as he feeds at the hanging red ivy geraniums.
by Marja-Leena 
While doing some photography, I’m suddenly captivated by a scent in the air, forgotten for a while but oh so familiar. The scent of rain awakens a flood of memories of cooling summer showers. Only some time later do I see a few drops on the skylights.
The discovery of a new word for this phenomena, petrichor, delights me. I’m not sure though that this really applies to just a few sprinkles. Perhaps there’s been more rain not too far away from whence the scent drifted here.
More please, for the sun is out again and the scent is gone. The sky has a dirty whitish cast to it, probably caused by smoke from distant forest fires. We need lots of rain here in BC for we have numerous forest fires, mostly caused by lightning in tinder dry forests. And I’m getting tired of watering the garden.
by Marja-Leena 
July 12th, about 8:00 pm
July 19th, at 7:20 pm
We’ve had a month of gorgeous summer weather, including an incredibly hot week which I didn’t enjoy but it’s been quite pleasant since. A month or so without rain with weeks of summer still ahead has me wondering if we are going into a drought? At least we have plenty of water in the mountains from all the heavy snow pack that came after the Winter Games.
Some amazing skies too, like on the two evenings pictured above viewed from our back deck. This evening’s unusually long feather-shaped cloud went right overhead and did not fit into the camera frame. We’re so fortunate to usually have cool evenings when a light fresh breeze comes wafting down the hill after dark, drifting inside through open windows and doors. We leave them wide open in our bedroom as we sleep, something I could not tolerate in the damper times of the year.
UPDATE July 26th: The long feather cloud is a CHEMTRAIL! Please read Natalie’s comments below and check out the links she’s generously provided, especially the last one. You will be shocked and disturbed. How do we stop this??
by Marja-Leena 
…more scan play with dried flowers, this one a dipladenia
This morning’s wake up call was the sound of slamming doors echoing through the house. A pleasant coolness felt almost chilly after the week’s heat wave. All morning the wind kept blowing hard with occasional powerful gusts shaking the trees violently, sending needles and leaves flying afar much like rugs being shaken free of dust. A top heavy potted oleander on the deck was knocked over twice until brought inside. A houseplant was knocked off the windowsill. Some tall flowers in the garden are needing staking.
In the afternoon as we drove through the city, we noticed a lot of tree branches and leaves on the streets, still being blown about. Yet the day was mostly sunny and not too hot. Later I learned that this region had quite a storm.
Storms aside, the main event of the day was that we met our daughter and granddaughters at the airport after their long flight from England. What a delight to see them again, and how excited the girls are! They are home for the summer! We’re only sorry that our son-in-law could not come because of work commitments.
by Marja-Leena 
I know I shouldn’t complain after our cool spring but I am much too hot! It was 30C (86F) here yesterday and today will be hotter, and it’s humid too. I know those in eastern Canada and US are experiencing even higher temperatures. I’m only half joking when I say that it’s my northern blood that makes me so intolerant of the heat, for I get headachy, bloated and downright cranky in hot weather.
A couple of evenings ago just before it got this hot, we managed to process a lot of strawberries for the freezer and then early yesterday morning I made some no-sugar freezer jam which finished me for the day. Hope it turns out!
Between watering the garden and trying to keep cool downstairs, far away from computer and studio, I’m not going to get much done except for some interesting reading which I hope to write about later – on a cool day.
by Marja-Leena 
I’m continuing to enjoy a relaxing extra long weekend at home, especially observing the ever evolving cycles of blossoming and going-to-seed in the garden, messy in places still but with many rewarding delights for the senses. Another delight is that husband has been installing an automatic watering system on our sunny deck, the one with numerous pots of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and a few flowers. With our usual summer drought soon to come, it will save many steps back and forth from the kitchen sink with a heavy watering can.
Oh, and happy July 4th to all my American friends and family!
by Marja-Leena 
sitting here with no words to offer but a bit of my view over the back yard…
by Marja-Leena 
the tomatoes are growing, golden nuggets almost ready
the first cucumber was delicious, many more awaiting
little baby peppers are appearing like magic
local sweet strawberries and raspberries for dessert
a huge full strawberry moon tonight
it must be summer
by Marja-Leena 
Or, really, the trouble with growing some of your own vegetables….
Why did we, a month ago, book a short holiday for next week, at the busiest time of the gardening season? Spring had been so cool that my tomato, pepper and cucumber seeds in the solarium had a slow start but have taken off recently with more sunshine. The 8 cucumber and 36 root-bound tomato plants in small pots are now starting to flower. I don’t want to pot them up into larger pots for I don’t have any more room indoors. I should plant them outside, but the nights are still below 10C and there is a threat of rain on the weekend. What to do? I may have to move them downstairs to a cooler shadier area to tide them over until we get back. At least daughter is at home to water them.
Why 36 tomato plants, you ask? I think every seed germinated, and there were more that I already gave away. Last year at this time, we were in the UK and I had only a few tomato plants to come home to, and really missed them, so I kind of got carried away this year, I think. Our deck will be so crowded with vegetables in pots that there will be little room for humans. Such is the life of this artist when not in the studio in the summer.
