I’ve been more focused on my flowers and my tomato plants this summer than my writing. It’s not lollygagging, though. I do a lot of writing in my head and planning while I’m watering and pulling weeds.

Yesterday, I was standing idly by my garden boxes, watering the tomatoes, when a new visitor showed up — the first tiger swallowtail I’d seen in my yard ever. Planting new flowers has brought new benefits. Of course, I didn’t have a camera with me. I did a little online search and found the exact butterfly I saw. Interestingly enough, the photo shows the creature on a yellow-orange day lily (I think they’re Stella d’Oro), which is exactly what my tiny guest was enjoying in my garden.

I have a few other pretties to show you as well. This floribunda rose is called Doris Day, which I thought fitting in memory of one of my all-time favorite singers. She was an awesome actress as well. Have you seen Calamity Jane? Or Love Me or Leave Me? She could do comedy, romance, and drama equally well.

This lily came up on its own this year and I don’t remember buying or planting it last year. I know memory goes fast as we age, but you’d think I’d recall buying a flower this dramatic. When viewed with the naked eye, it’s pure orange. But when I tried to photograph it in the sun, the center of all the petals were yellow. I had to shade the flower to get even this much orange.

Other Stuff

I’m a monthly contributor to the Blood-Red Pencil Blog. My most recent posts there include:

May: The Writer’s Conundrum: How Much Online Time is Too Much?

June: A National Month (or Twelve) Just for Me

My blog is now open for guest bloggers. Colorado mystery author Jodi Burnett will be here on Wednesday, July 24th, with an excerpt from her new release, Hidden in the Hills.

And finally, this is my gardening assistant, Sassy. Her nose is always right in the spot I’m digging or pulling weeds. I think she likes the fresh earth smell.