Nothing Could Be Finer

Friday got off to a fabulous start.  Sue and I met at the South Store Cafe where she treated me to breakfast for my birthday.  She also gave me these cute little items she picked up on a recent trip to Bend.  This cat bottle stopper with a bird on its head.  Purrfectly appropriate around here.

I think she's trying to redeem herself after the cabbit slippers she gave me for Christmas.  Also, this cute "Happy Camper" pin.  Now this needs to go into the trailer so that I can wear it when we travel.

After breakfast, we went on this walk, which I have designated as the "Lower McCormick Hill Road Loop".

Obviously, that satellite image was taken at a different time of the year, because today, the red clover was in full bloom all over the countryside.

Red clover and wheat.

If you look at that farthest ridge in the background of the next image, then you can see where I live in relationship to this place.  I live at the top of that ridge.

When we got around to the back side of the loop, we started seeing more poppies.

Mixed in were quite a few bearded iris growing wild

and wild lupine.

It seems to me that nothing could be finer than to be a bee in a field of red clover.

Here's the landscape looking the opposite direction.  On a clearer day, one might be able to see the mountains from here.

When I got back home, I didn't even go inside before filling the bird feeders, checking the greenhouse, and watering my annuals.  This rhodie is in full bloom now.  It's one of my favorites.

It's flowers look almost like orchids.

Also, my favorite dark purple rhodie is just now starting to bloom.

The tomatoes have finally perked up enough that I repotted all of these last week.

These next ones were repotted about the time I moved things into the greenhouse, and they are almost big enough to be repotted into their largest pots of the season.

The only things left to repot are the basil, which is probably ready, the dill, which I expect will be ready very soon, and this one little tomato plant that has been slower than all the rest.  No idea what ails it, but it's finally starting to look better.

Despite the problems I've had, all of my original tomato seeds have survived, and they are beginning to thrive.

Also the butter lettuce is almost big enough that I can start picking leaves off of it.  In fact, I probably should start a second round soon.

I finally gave up on the pelletized seed I was using for the red leaf lettuce.  It never germinated.  I planted more using conventional seeds, but still, only this one seed has germinated.  And again, I have no idea why it has been so slow this year.

Mr. Smitty was absolutely thrilled to have someone come outside with him.  He goes out in the morning and doesn't come back inside until evening.  And then, he is one tired pup, er, cat.  He has his dinner, and then he is down for the count.  Today was an excellent day for a dust bath, followed by attacking invisible things in the dirt.

You need cat's eyes to see them.

So once I had all of those things finished, I came in, drank some water, took some Aleve, and then iced my aching knee.  Oy.  It's my favorite part of growing older.  Not.

Now I'm going to go start sewing the Love Me, Love My Cat quilt together.  It probably won't be finished today, but I should be able to get a good start on it.

I hope you're having a fine Friday too.