Sunflowers at the Warwick Farmer’s Market on Sunday.

My sister left on Saturday. We had a good visit and I think we did everything she was hoping to do. Time went by so quickly that her visit was over before we knew it!

Cirque in the city was wonderful! Such skilled performers. Death-defying acts! Lightning fast set changes! Non-stop entertainment! If you’ve never seen Cirque perform I highly recommend them to anyone. This is the third one I have seen. On Las Vegas trips I’ve seen Mystere and LOVE (the Beatle one). All of them well worth the price of a seat.

On Saturday after dropping my sister at the train station we took the dogs for a walk before it got too hot. Poor things have been inside with no exercise because of the heat. We did a little grocery shopping, then took Mia for a short drive around Greenwood Lake. We ate lunch at the Emerald Point restaurant (which I always refer to as the biker place because all the motorcycle folks hang out here). We sat outside in the shade with a view of the lake and had a cool beer and a sandwich. It was nice.

When we got home we pooled it for a few hours. And then again after dinner. I did about 30 laps or so of the side-stroke and it felt good to get the exercise.

Outside house lights reflecting in the pool.

We are having a marvelous pool year this year with very consistent temperatures in the low 80’s and clear sparkling water. Sheer heaven with all the hot weather and humidity we’ve been having.

The cicadas are slowly starting up. I hope they reach symphonic heights this year as I love to hear them singing away. We have a few fireflies left but I think they are a different species than the ones earlier in the summer. These fly high amongst the tree tops with a different light pattern. The other day there was a bug inside on the sliding glass door. I grabbed it, opened the door and tossed it outside and as it flew off it lit up! It didn’t look like a firefly to me, jut another beetle. And we’ve had some strange beetles around this year.

The bee balm is nearly spent. The hummingbirds enjoy it now (must be the concentration of nectar?) but it’s not as pretty.

I got a surprise when I looked closer at the garden. The bee balm that I got when I traded with Maggie was blooming! Last year it did not come up, but this year even with the lack of rain it’s making a strong showing. I LOVE the color!! Maggie, did mine bloom in your garden??

On Sunday we made a new recipe: Tomatillo Gazpacho. It was perfect on a hot and humid day.
Tomatillos, cucumbers, green pepper, jalapeños, and avocado all blended, then topped with a cucumber/avocado/shrimp/green olive salsa. It was delicious!

Hopefully I am back into the swing of blogging again instead of the hit (and mostly miss) of the past week!

Okay, we are going back to Colorado for a day. This old tree lies at the top of our 70 acres. It’s been down a long, long time. I think it was a ponderosa pine but I can’t be certain. There are other living ponderosas that dot this ridge so it would make sense.

You’ve got to admit that in its repose it has a lovely view. If you’re going to fall over you might as well do it right.

If you back up a bit from where the tree lies you would get this view. I took these shots and stitched them together into a panorama. That’s Bull Mountain in the background. The cabin lies kind of mid-photo where you can just see trees sticking up beyond the hill.

The dry climate has weathered the tree to a state of mummification. Its bark and roots have taken on a kind of patina that only years of being exposed to harsh sun and wind can accomplish.

Its mighty roots that once kept it grounded now reach for the sky instead.

Its gnarly branches reach out in supplication.

It is indeed a grand old tree. Even in death it commands respect.

Whew. Summer arrived right on time. The past two days have been in the 90’s with high humidity, taking the heat index right over 100 degrees! It’s good for the pool (which was opened last week right before we got back) since it needs to come up a bit in temperature, but it’s not good for much else. I need to get some more weeding done but it’s too muggy out there for me.

The ferns are going crazy.

The bee balm is starting to bloom.

And the day lilies poolside are blooming too.

Last night after dinner Rick couldn’t stand looking at the pool any longer and he had the first swim of the season. 77 degrees isn’t too bad for the water temperature, but it’s still pretty chilly. I watched and cheered him on from the sidelines.

Bella was out with us as usual but Alex and Hailey preferred to stay in the air conditioned house. Can’t blame them.

Rick had just gotten out of the water when I heard a noise and Bella took off down into the yard and into the woods barking. Uh oh. I know what that kind of bark means. I ran to see what it was and saw a bear climbing up a tree. We grabbed Bella and bless her heart she listened and came with us.

I walked back down to the edge of the yard to take a closer look. I’ve learned over the years we’ve lived here to look up, way up in the tree. Sure enough, this bear had three cubs with her! I was so excited I was jumping up and down with joy! This is the first time in two years since they initiated the bear hunt again that we’ve had a momma bear! So great to see her and the cubbies!

It was getting dark so trying to get photos was challenging. This was the best I could do.

The three little monkeys!

Pretty momma!

Another one of the three cubs. I love the little guy sitting astride in the crook of the branch! They are so darling when they’re little. Three cubs is quite a lot. Two is pretty normal, but nothing like Fertile Myrtle’s Five. Do you remember them? Here’s a link to a video of them.

Here’s a pic so you can see how far apart the cubs were from the mother bear.

She was inside the perimeter of our fence which means the cubs had to crawl over it. We have several low spots in the fence from the bears climbing over so it’s not a big surprise. Still, it’s always a little unnerving to have them in your yard!

I don’t know if she’ll be back after all the ruckus or not. She didn’t seem too worried. I’m just so excited to have bears again. They are such interesting animals.

No visit to the cabin would be complete without visiting with Dick the Tree.
From the side Dick looks like any other ordinary aspen tree standing tall and proud in the forest.

But seen from the front it’s plain to see that Dick is not an ordinary tree. We really don’t know just how he came to be.




We have never seen a tree before that has grown quite like this. Dick has two separate trees coming up from the ground which meet to form one tree trunk. Years ago he had a stick that protruded from the spot where the two trunks come together, hence his name. Sadly, over the years that stick wore down and it is now completely gone.

Here he is from behind. To us he looks like some old cowboy that has been riding too long in the saddle.

It used to be easier to take a good photo of Dick before the little pine tree started to grow right in front of him.

Of course, we named it Jane. What else?

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Yesterday was a glorious day! We’ve been waiting and waiting for weather like this: sunny and warm with a touch of breeze. Ah, YES.

The first thing I did was wash the sheets and put them on the line to dry. Nothing like fresh breeze-blown sheets!

We did some chores around the house and yard while Bella and Alex practiced being Siamese twins.

After a trip to the grocery store for supplies for dinner (BBQ ribs, coleslaw and corn) and a quick lunch we pulled Mia out and gave her a wash.

She was so shiny after her bath that I was compelled to grab the camera and started taking photos. The reflection of the trees on her hood was too good to pass up.

 

 

 

While taking these photos I realized that my reflection was there as well. I had fun snapping some silly shots. Can you find me?

 

 

After her bath we couldn’t just put her back in the garage on such a perfect ‘tops down’ day now could we? No! So we went for an hour’s drive.

We have several favorite routes that take us along wooded two-lane roads. And there is no such thing as a straight road where we live, so the little roads are perfect for Mia’s cornering abilities.

I like to shoot straight from the passenger seat on the sports setting for realism. Here is a sampling of our drive.

 

 

 

 

Read the sign!

 

The beautiful Warwick Valley (NY) in the distance.

 

A glimpse of Greenwood Lake, the largest lake in New Jersey which is shared with New York State. Our house is less than ten minutes away.

Today is supposed to be cloudy with some rain moving in later. We are planning on taking the dogs down to Green Turtle Pond then off to the opening day of the Warwick Farmer’s Market. I hope you enjoyed our Saturday!