It's 108 degrees outside; lets distract ourselves....

I know there have been heat waves in many areas, now it seems to be our turn. At least we don't have the high humidity to accompany our high temperatures.

Our garden continues to do its thing.

Here is Monarda 'Pink Lace' with larkspur.
(Nice cool colors.)

I've been loving the volunteer larkspur in our garden for a few years now. Such a light, lovely look. And so easy, just sprinkle some seeds and watch where it takes you.
(Are you feeling cooler?)

A big bloomin' lily this time. Don't ask which one, I don't know anymore. We've planted so many lilies.

Clematis 'Dutchess of Albany' on the Moongarden.
(A nice cool pink.)

I like a big, bold daylily and this one fits the bill. Again, planted so many, many years ago, no idea which one this is.
(Sorry, this one seems hot to me.)

'Nicholas' daylily with lychnis coronaria.

'Bella Lugosi'; I especially like them dark and striking, which they really need to be in order to withstand our strong sunshine.

Another daylily. This one was supposed to be white but it isn't. So it was moved out of the moongarden years ago and is lighting up this corner of the garden nicely.
(Feeling cooler?)

'Tuscawilla Tigress' daylily. It is planted at the top of the stream between 'Purple Fountain' beech and sambucus nigra 'Eva'.
(Hot, hot, hot.)

The rudbeckias. Here with some mini alliums and a bit of russian sage.

Yes, we have a lot of rudbeckias. But aren't they pretty?

Now that July has arrived the echinaceas are here also. This clump is backed by white yarrow, calendulas and of course more larkspur.

Also with July come the crocosmia. This is 'Lucifer'. It's done very well for us.
Hummingbirds love it.
(Too hot?)

I like the buds almost as well as the flowers themselves.
(It gets hotter close up.)

Update on the kittens:

This one was adopted. Yay!

This one is still waiting for a home.

And.....four more! Lucky us? At least we've caught all that were running loose around here.

How could anyone possibly take these to the pound to be euthanized? We couldn't.
The good news is we're getting a deal on having them all spayed/neutered. So now we just need to find homes for everyone.

This one looks almost identical to one we already have.

And I have appointments for both mom cats and the adult feral male to be spayed/neutered by the end of the month.

Here is "Frankie". Can you tell why we've decided to keep him? (Too cute!).
And he looks nearly identical to the above kitten. (They're cousins.)

(Hope you're cooled off by now. If not, better put some beer on ice!)