MidJuly

Bear Butte...Notice how dry and brown the hills are.
Day Lily Flower Show...I love Day Lilies and Tiger Lilies. They are very bright and cheery.
The squash are taking off in all directions...Baby Blue Hubbard...Do you see the two little sow bug buddies out for a stroll??Summer Squash...
I planted this century plant, rescued from a garage sale, this winter. Poor thing, it had been miserably trapped in (actually literally busting out of!) a two gallon pot for at least a year after its rescue due to its dire conditions! I essentially just come by, and give it a kick every now and then. And look! it is rewarding me with a baby! These succulents are very hardy and grow quite well around here. When they bloom they send up a massive top heavy blossom cluster, about 20 feet into the air. Impressive! Above, a close up of the unique and interesting patterns on the leaf of the century plant. It is an imprint of the neighboring leaf.They are tightly curled together and must unfurl themselves from the bunch. In the process there is some kind of compression image formed. Very interesting. The squiggles fade some as the leaf matures until the oldest leaves have little sign of it.
Summer opens like a blossom. Just realized i downloaded this last batch of images in size large- sorry. I have lots more AWESOME images to share. I will stop for now, and post anew later, with the remaining pics a bit smaller. Peace.

P.S. We had an amazing (unseasonal) rain last night! There was about an inch in the bottom of my highly unscientific 2"X 6" PomTea drinking glass- rain gauge. I even had to ditch the road! It could really spell trouble for the grapes and stone fruits though, and I'm sorry if I sound unappreciative. The nectarines are susceptible to splitting, and then mold or insects, and the grapes can also split, or fall victim to the dreaded powdery mildew.!