A Quiet Day at Home

  Today was really nice! I ran into a good friend whom I have not seen for at least five years in the parking lot at Lowe's. We had such a good talk! Made my whole day.

But the weather was gorgeous as well! Look at this beautiful sky! Mackeral clouds signal a change in the weather, and I'm interpreting that to mean the cooldown is here for a few days at least.

My peony bloomed this year without being coaxed. If I were going to gripe, I would tell you that this is my least favorite color of peony. When I was a child we had a row of alternating deep red and white ones. I liked that. But with my inconsistent gardening, I'll take anything that flowers.

The smoke tree is in full bloom. Mine isn't even pink. It's sort of brown. But it's alive!

And I'll end with a sunset. But it's not tonight's. It will be light here in western Michigan for another 3 hours this close to the summer solstice. This was last night.

In other news: I did laundry, I went shopping. I edited. I made good progress with the bondo on the big square on the trailer. Not ready to show you that yet. I made plans for next week. Stay tuned.

See Smoke Tree Musings

Smoke Tree Musings

 
I've mentioned before that we have a smoke tree. Just because I like to name them, it's Cotinus obovatus. This is the American Smoke Tree. Supposedly it's southern, but there are an awful lot of them used ornamentally in the north.

So here's mine. Boring. I made it look a little better by catching late afternoon light on it.



There is a beautiful one down the road. It turns lovely bronze and gold in the fall. You can see that at See One Last Blaze for Fall

The other day I walked past it and snapped a midsummer shot. Yup... it always looks better than mine.



More hot days here.

	See Maroon Smoke Tree
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Maroon Smoke Tree

We have a smoke tree. This is not it. Ours is not a maroon one, but is sort of a greeny-gray. These trees make good ornamentals in dry infertile soil. Yup. Also, the rabbits like the bark in winter. Ours is back to being a shrub after several cycles of being a stub, and now having a 4-foot rabbit fence around it. I'm not sure why I keep trying to save it, except that it does add interest when it's looking good.

Anyway, I like the maroon ones best, although none of them will make my list of favorites. However, driving home yesterday morning, this tree displayed one of those life lessons... from one angle it is dark although interesting, but look what happens when the morning light shines through- it becomes spectacular!



Hot and humid today... hopefully a little cooler tomorrow.

See One Last Blaze for Fall for another smoke tree, also not ours

One Last Blaze for Fall

 
Maggie and I took our walk on the roads today. We've had snow for 4 days now, not enough to ski on really, but it sure begins to look like winter. And yet at the entrance to a mobile home park just down the road a smoke tree, and multiple suckers growing beneath it, just insist on one last colorful hurrah!

	See Maroon Smoke Tree
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