Here in NJ the fireflies are pretty much done. We have a few hanger-ons, but for the most part they’ve all found their mate in life. We heard our first cicada of the season a few days ago, so they have taken over where the fireflies left off. So far it sounds like only a pitiful few that have been sent to warm up the orchestra. We expect symphony proportions before too long. Can’t wait. I don’t think I could ever live again in a place where fireflies and cicadas don’t live. They are an integral part of summer.

The hummingbird moths are out in force. I just love them! Such funny little creatures with their part bird/part insect appearance.

The turkeys brought their new crop of babies around yesterday and also this morning. Turklets is what I call them. Too cute for words.

I also had a nighttime visit from a bear around 10:30 p.m. I was here in the office and I heard noises from just outside the window where the construction trailer is parked. The dogs went berserk. I stepped outside and turned on the light, but I couldn’t see anything. I did hear something heavy moving off into the woods though, and not ten minutes later the dogs were furiously barking (from inside the house) at something in the back yard or possibly on the deck. I couldn’t imagine anything a bear would want with spent plywood and other assorted junk from out bathroom rip out. That is until this morning when I saw a paper sack dragged out into the front yard just yards away from the trailer. Closer inspection of the trailer bed showed a half-eaten sandwich tossed in there from the plumber’s lunch yesterday. AHA! I can only assume the bear either moved off due to the dogs or because there were nails sticking straight up from pieces of wood that he/she might have encountered in their search for lunchmeat.

Our house renovations are moving along albeit slowly. The kitchen is pretty much complete except for the backsplash and new kitchen window.

We “moved” out of our bedroom two weeks ago for the complete bath remodel and probably have another two weeks to go before we can “move” back in. My day starts at 7:30 when the crew arrives. Cats have to be rounded up and closed off in the bedroom we are camping in, dogs corralled downstairs in their basement run.

Our house has turned into a construction zone. Workers come in and go out. Up the stairs, down the stairs they go, tracking dog hair and construction residue all the way. The music of saws, drills and hammers resonates through the house. The dogs bark every time either the plumber or electrician go down to the basement. There is no escaping the constant din. I could leave the house, but I always seem to be needed to answer questions throughout the day. I can escape to the pool, and since it’s supposed to be 90 degrees today, I just might do that. To the work crew’s credit, they arrive early and most of the time they leave early (mid-afternoon) which helps some.

Our bathroom the way it looked before:

Our bathroom now:

As you can see we have a way to go yet. We are completely reconfiguring everything in it, closing off the old door and cutting a new one so we can have a proper walk-in closet in the dressing area off the bedroom that was not being used for anything. The toilet, tub, shower and vanities are all flipped from where they used to be. Quite the project! It’s going to be great when it’s done.

While all that is going on inside the house, an industrious spider (and one very ugly spider it is I might add) has been busy outside our sliding door to the deck doing some web building. See what I mean? Construction everywhere! Every night it spins its complex web, only to be gone the next morning when I let the dogs out. Imagine, all that work for one night! At least we’ll have a little bit more to show for all our inconveniences than Mr. Spider. At least I certainly hope so!

One of the joys of summer is eating al fresco. We particularly like to have Sunday lunch down by the pool. I load everything we’ll need on a tray and make my way carefully down two sets of deck stairs. I like to set a nice table with tablecloth and cloth napkins and a bouquet of flowers cut freshly from my own yard.

This week’s Sunday lunch was a vegetable risotto with fresh peas, asparagus and spinach.

Of course to have a proper Sunday lunch you simply must open up a bottle of nice wine. We enjoyed an Alsatian Gewurztraminer with our risotto.

The weather was lovely, warm but not too hot. After lunch we ended up spending most of the afternoon in the pool. A truly decadent way to spend a summer afternoon.

Dragonflies are cool creatures. On wings of gossamer they flit here and there, rarely stopping for a moment. From a distance they are beautiful, but on closer inspection they look like what they are: insects. Still, their different colored bodies and wings demand a closer look.

Over the weekend, I noticed the dragonflies just resting on the lilies. Mostly they seemed to like the spent buds the best. They begged to have their photos taken while in this uncommon state of repose. So, I give you Dragonflies at Rest.

Here is a slow motion video Rick took last year of a dragonfly in motion. Take a look!

If a lily could fly
it could certainly not ask
for anything more beautiful
to take it to the sky.

more ethereal dragonfly pics to come ...

A group of Indian Pipe Plants emerge from the ground at the same time. To me they look like they are all taking a bow after a great performance.