After the rain, it was cool and beautiful this morning. The horses stayed out for an extra hour. Jane and I decided to work on our gardens, since it was great weeding weather.
Two colors of echinacea (coneflowers) 
Bronze bunny in the garden 
Oak Leaf Hydrangea 
Phlox is just starting
Vlad and Daniel came to take finished sculptures away and deliver the next project’s armature. I was not on the job today, and failed to take pictures, but Harry got a few shots…
Daniel and Vlad ready to lift 
Vlad and sculpture leave the studio 
Daniel and Vlad into the truck 
Safely inside and off to VMD Sculpting for the hard part
Harry is excited to be starting a new project in the studio.
Meanwhile, outside, I saw the most miniscule frog I have ever seen. I didn’t have a coin to use for size reference, but three of him could have fit on a dime!
Also, there are frog eggs in the pond – many of them!
A red winged blackbird at the feeder.
The cats continue to decorate the barn area. Cora on the windowsill, Tom Morris on the truck.
Cora 
Tom Morris
Rebecca came to help with gardening on this perfect weeding day. As always, she arrived laden with eggs and glorious flowers.
On a somber note – the plums have Brown Fungus, and I’m afraid there will be no plums this year. Not that this particular plum tree has EVER produced an edible plum. That’s what I get for buying a tree at Rural King a few years ago. Time to end this experiment and try again next year with a new and better tree. Planting trees is a vote of optimism and a gift to the future. My father was still planting trees in his eighties. I hope to do the same. But I will be more discriminating than I was with this tree.
Horses were out early and it will be a perfect night, cool and clear. Out in Montana, Rainy has been having some training. She is broke to ride by now, I think!
Stay safe, stay well, stay interested.
Sad about the plum tree…
Very sad! And three days ago, everything was looking good – I was thinking this was the year for plum tarts.
“Planting trees is a vote of optimism and a gift to the future. My father was still planting trees in his eighties. I hope to do the same.” I love this hopeful and poetic sentence. Beautiful, Anne. The plum tree sorry saga reminds me of a thought I had yesterday walking with Etta James amongst the mighty oaks and the giant walnut trees in the KHP. Most of these ancient trees were severely damaged in a vicious storm about 14 years ago. How they have survived is miraculous. Tops sliced off, one oak cut in half, now grow mightier than ever. Anyhoo, my thought was only man and nature destroys it’s own. So, to the plum.