Yesterday was full and exciting.

We both went to Bishop Gibbons; we are getting to know the school and the people. Maria worked on the new sewing machines with Sue Silverstein, and I met and spoke with Tricia White, the head of the English Department.

She and I will team up to teach a blogging course; she’s starting her own to understand the medium better.

When we got home, we discovered we had just narrowly missed a severe storm – hail, rain, and high winds. It blew things around the yard and snapped some of my flowers. It also blew our ridgecap off the farmhouse.

Everything is cleaned up now; we are preparing for a triple-digit heat wave this weekend. Ed Bullock delivered two more cords of wood; this should be enough for us to get through the coming winger. Maria, once again, insists on stacking them around the shed, which is almost full.

The poetry reading we planned to attend with our poet Shearer, Ian McCrae, is postponed until next month because of the storm and the power outage. My heart goes out to those in Europe and parts of the United State without air conditioning in that kind of heat. We have an air conditioner, Maria’s studio, and the bedroom in my study. Stay cool, people.

(The photo above was taken with my Iphone 13, it is of the first Dahlia to pop up in our Dahlia garden.

I’m planning on a weekend of reading, some picture taking, some blogging some hanging out with Maria. Maybe I’ll get to Bennington for a lobster roll. These white gladiola photos never get tired for me, everyone is different, and each one seems more beautiful than the next.

Four of my gladiola stems were snapped by the winds; I’ve already distributed them to friends and neighbors, including the Amish, who were very happy to see them. I’m going to cut these flowers soon, if we take the bulbs out in the fall, they will grow again. I’ll miss them, but eight or nine haven’t flowered yet.

The Amish love getting flowers. Curiously, they love flowers but don’t plant any. I suspect that is considered wasteful in their faith. They don’t waste a second of the day.

Only one of my purple gladiolas survived the storm, but it’s young and blooming. The new buds have the most striking colors.

I’m working on a monochrome flower photo session and show for the blog, which I’ll put up tonight. I added a couple of the Leica monochrome shots here. The light has to be just suitable for these monochrome flower photos; I don’t have a second to waste like the Amish. I love the way the light interacts with the white gladiolas. I love black and white photos; they can stimulate the imagination.

Hail the nasturtiums; the memory garden is rugged, beautiful, and indestructible. The memorial is to remember the children killed in school shootings. We can’t muster the courage to protect them but must never forget them. This nasturtium plant was rescued from near oblivion. It is thriving.

I wanted to try out this monochrome photo of Maria’s lilies; it captures so much beautiful detail.

I’ll post some monochrome flower photos for those interested in black and white photography late this afternoon or this evening. I’m going to try to stay out of the sun, which is fierce.

I don’t care to be confined, but this heat lays me right out if I go outside for too long.