Whew! Productive evening! I ran to the post office to mail the box to Australia (eBay is making it easier and easier to mail overseas boxes now) and then ran by the grocery to pick up a few apples and some broccoli to go till payday. I have a long list to pick up after that, but the essentials were fresh fruit and veggies.

When I came back home it felt just perfect temperature-wise to mow. If I'd been spending time outdoors in quiet pursuits I'd have put on a long sleeved shirt (haven't wanted to do that since early May!). It was perfect for mowing, and when I came it in was the house that felt hot! :)

The front yard is mowed. I also went out with a spade fork and finally dislodged the little patch of native prickly pear I planted when I first moved in. Heavy rain last week and again this weekend made it an easy job. I had thought of turning that side of the yard into a cactus garden, but there is just too much rain in the area, it always filled up with grass even though I didn't water. And I took down a tree I had planted at the same time as the cactus that failed to thrive. Finally, I took another whorl off of the pine tree by the front walk--I want people to be able to see it clearly, not have a tree a burglar can hide behind.

The cactus are in the wheelbarrow and tomorrow I'll take it back and dump it on the "back 40" (feet, that is) overlooking the creek. Anything that will grow with deep roots is welcome back there to stabilize things. It's trees and vines now, the cactus is just another worker in the pack, and it will grow just fine in the shade.

I have to work on photos tonight, and see if I can finish and deliver them tomorrow. I'd have to head to that side of town anyway to get dog food, and drop off some old paint at the toxic waste depot.

Michelle, if you still have a lot of tomatoes from your garden, here's a recipe I stumbled upon over the weekend that I'm dying to try. I don't have a crop to speak of this year, so I'll hold onto the recipe, but see if you can resist this one!

Roasted tomato and garlic soup

MMmmmmmmm!

SRS