Biggest Chore of the Year - the HEDGE!

Every summer I have to trim our massive hedge. It's something like 13 feet tall when trimmed. I have to stand on the top of the ladder, which normally is unsafe, but I lean against the hedge for support.
A closeup of what I see while I'm up there.
A view back down the ladder. Oh, there's Simon.
Where I've been. Yonder is Lydia's yard. I go over there and do her side too.

Stacy's Wedding Shower

Lou, Stacy, Steph.
Golly, Steph can put on a spread. The dining room table, cooled by our new air conditioner. Yesterday was unbearably hot, and it's still very muggy.
The coffe table with pressies.

Early Morning

Couldn't sleep early today, so got up to pick sweet peas and raspberries. Apparently it was dark enough for the flash to go off. Nearby I've torn out all my spent poppies and planted a row of carrots with very old seeds. I got 0% germination, either due to the heat or the age of the seeds, so maybe I'll buy sprouts of something.

Simon meets Madison at Dave & Patti's

OK, this blog wasn't meant to be all about the new dog, but lately it has been. Of course it's Simon on the right, and Madison in the background. Madison is the first dog that has literally gone nose to nose with Simon, so for once he didn't spend all evening trying to dominate the other canine.

We go to the beach.

These pics are actually a couple of weeks old. We went to our shared family beach house in Seaview, WA. Above is Steph and Simon taking a nap in the back yard.
Here's a view of the house from the back. It was built in about 1895.
Each day I took Simon out the long trail to the beach. I have to continuously pull up seedling trees to keep it grassy. It was all grass when I was a kid, but now it mostly forested.