Today, Maria and I drove all over town to get food supplies and send off some beautiful quilts, and I stopped several times to scout for new flowers. I hit the jackpot, stopping to see Judy Page at Moses Market, a floral and landscape paradise in Vermont, and Anne of Hickory Wind Farm at the Farmer’s Market.

I got a dozen new plants, came home, and spent five hours out in the sun turning some of my flowers over to Maria, discarding others that were feeble or dying, spreading powdery donkey manure in the garden beds, and digging new holes for the new plants and watering. I am worn out.

It was a significant re-imagining of the garden beds and preparing for new flowers to be photographed in the second half of the gardening season. I’m learning to think ahead.

This was the most extended period I was on my feet and working outside in several years.  It felt good. I’m getting my stamina back.  I couldn’t have done that just a few months ago.

I thank Dr. Daly and my new brace for this and Maria’s devotion and support. I’m way too stubborn to be housebound.

Tomorrow, I see David, my brace maker, to ensure the new mount works okay and doesn’t need tinkering. I think it’s perfect. My beds look great, the flowers are better organized, and the beds are cleaner and more coherent.

Something new, above.

I was exhausted, bit by fierce mosquitoes loving the rain and de-hydrating. My legs and back heart neither is used to this.

I sat down, had my quiet hour, and went to work writing this and other posts.

I’m excited about the next chapter in this year’s flower journey. I went looking for Ed Gulley’s Tin Man Head, the only remnant of his Tin Man sculpture. I dug it out of the Dahlia garden and put it where it belongs, in the center of my garden bed. Here is my art photo of the day. New flowers are on the way.

I’m experimenting with fashion photography, a cross between abstract and macro photography. Bless my Leica, it is a heroic camera, helping me to learn and grow.

I love closing in the bids, and tomorrow’s flowers. They are beautiful every step of the way.

I am always on the alert for strong colors; the closer, the better.

This flower speaks to me of love and creation. It is soft yet powerful.