Post Fourth

No Pondering with a Purpose this week.....leaves me at a bit of a loss for today.  Brenda is busy being a new grandma so we'll let it slide (wink, wink).  I just wish I knew what was going on with her blog.  The main page is still "dead" to me.  It loads and  I can see it, but none of the links work.  I can't even comment to tell her "congratulations."  So, Brenda, if you're reading this....CONGRATULATIONS!

Blogging woes aside, there's not much doing today.  It was a real scorcher yesterday for the Fourth of July so we opted not to go sit and watch the parade (our town's parade is about 2 hours long right during the peak sun and heat time of 10:30-12:30).  Tim cleaned out the fishpond and installed the new pump and filter with a UV light to control algea and a spotlight.  He also added the water feature I picked to better circulate the water in the upper pond.  While he was doing that, I took Megan to a job interview at the Ramada Inn...from what she told me it was a strange interview and she has no idea how it went.  She doesn't really think she wants to work for the man....and I am inclined to agree.  Since we were out we stopped at PetSmart and bought new fishies for the pond.  The other ones died when Tim added conditioner to the water (turns out he added waaaaay too much).

Full view of the pond area with Miss Daisy posing for you.  The last time I shared a picture the weeding hadn't been done and the mulch wasn't down.  My Scooby's buried under the big rock in the foreground.

A closer look at the pond.  You can see the new water feature near the top of the picture.  It seems to circulate the water into the upper pond better than the last set up we had so hopefully nasty water in it will be a thing of the past.

Miss Daisy getting a drink from the pond.  Doesn't she just look like a little black bear?

Looking down into the bigger pond.  You can't see any fish.  The new ones are a lot smaller than the ones that died and in this heat they are making good use of the shade areas we created with the rocks on the ledges.

We all went out for lunch.  None of the decent restaurants were open so we finally ended up at Taco Bell.  Oh well.  Rushed home after that to finish getting things cleaned up and set up for company.  My mom, her husband, our friends and their adult daughter, her two kids and a friend all came for a supper cookout.  I marinated flat iron steaks all day (they melted in your mouth) and boiled 3 lbs. of peel-and-eat shrimp.  We also had hamburgers and hotdogs, pasta salad, baked beans, chips and salsa, fresh blueberry cobbler, and I cooked corn on the cob in the oven....you totally have to try that.  It comes out so tender and juicy!  Just put it on the center oven rack at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Don't husk it or anything.  When it comes out cut the stalk end off and it peels very easy and the silk comes right off.  I left the husks on and put them in a big roasting pan with a lid....the ears stayed hot for a couple of hours.

The girls and kids got to swim before we ate, but we'd no sooner finished than a big storm rolled through.  We managed to get the food inside before the rain came so it was all good.  Some people sat inside and some of us sat out under the covered area and enjoyed the coolness.

Some of the company was still here at fireworks time so we didn't go down to watch them either.  We could see all the high ones from here, anyway.

Lots of leftovers so no cooking today and there are s'mores for dessert because the fire got rained out.

We're all just laying low and taking it easy today.  It's another miserably humid day with the heat index predicted to hit triple digits (actual temp around 90) so I predict an afternoon in the pool is ahead.

Enjoy some more pictures from the backyard....

Daisies

Lily by the fish pond

Hosta blossoms

Lily by the pool

Forget what it's called, but it thrives on neglect and comes back year after year and spreads fairly well.

The volunteer Catalpa (Toby) tree outside the backdoor.  Makes the deck nice and shady, but it's going to
have to come down one of these days.  It's too close to the house.  No, the while bunny isn't live.

My little "shadynook."  The last time I showed it we hadn't yet planted the hostas around it.
I love sitting out there on the swing by the fish pond in the evenings.

Okay, Mom....is HOT!!! We can pleeeeeassse go back in air conditioning now?