The center of the pond 

Cloud reflections 

Cloud reflections and Penny Wort shadows 

Just seemed odd 

Nice shadows from the Penny Wort 

Small Catfish in the center of the photo. I like the ripples over the cloud in the upper left corner. 

Another one You Should Have Seen

When Kilo and I were finishing our walk this morning we spooked a large Heron looking bird that was fishing from the front of the boat. I didn't have the camera but it was too fast for my early morning reflexes anyway. This one was about 2/3 the size of the Great Blue Heron.

August Night

It's 10:30 PM. The heat has disappeared and the cool Southwest breeze has taken over. I absolutely love this time of night, at this time of year, in this place. I ought to delete the last post where I was whining about the amount of work I have left to do, but the information is good, these things are a lot of hard work, every day, so I'll just delete the whine. Now if someone reads it, it's just a regular "wow, this is a lot of work" statement.

Just went out to change the water and the night is incredible. Even though the night air is already cool, the pond is like an air conditioner. There is a substantial temperature difference between the bottom and top of the berm. I enjoy walking by the garden even at night. The Tomatoes and Peppers are delicious and although Eggplant will be ready soon, I still haven't thought much about what to do with it. I did eat Eggplant dishes in the commune, but at that point in my life I had never eaten food that tasted good and didn't know about flavor. I ate what was available when I was hungry enough and for no other reason. Eggplant was just another plate of tasteless gruel like everything else I ate. Now, I only eat what I like, and although it is a nice looking vegetable, I might not like any of its variations. Maybe someone will. I hate to waste perfectly well formed vegetables. Before I forget, the Red-winged Blackbirds have not been around for several days, but the Ring-necked Dove population is increasing rapidly, and a lot of Quail are showing up.

Morning walk. 

These were slow because I was slow to water them. 

This looks better every day. 

The Strawberry plants didn't live, but grass is starting to fill the Southwest side of the berm. 

August

This morning as I was cleaning the pump and moving the water system I realized that I am running out of energy faster than we are running out of Summer. I refuse to let the project turn sloppy but I barely had the energy to finish the trimming this time and there will be several before the growing season stops. And the really good news is that the rains will start any day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sunday Experience

I spent most of yesterday working on the pond and although Camron was gone for most of the day, I kept thinking about putting up the tools before he showed up and started using them, especially the 6' step ladder that I had on the berm so I could trim the trees. Every time I walked by it, I thought "I need to move that or he will be climbing it". About 5 PM I turned a corner and Camron was sitting on the top step of the ladder. He immediately got down and came over to show me his collection of new items. He had a new alien (from the Alien Store) and two new phrases that he used many times.

For example, he has a new friend named Adriana who seems seriously different, but "Don't Worry". She will be moving in with him because her parents told her she should live anywhere she wanted to when she turns 6, which just happened. She came over yesterday when I wasn't around to choose which tree she is going to build her treehouse in, and to try out the paddle shoes and rocket thrusters that she invented (she walked across the surface of our pond). She has a 40' science lab and has also invented an accelerated growth spray that might not be good for the garden, but "Don't Worry", Camron intends to keep her locked in his room most of the time until we pick all of the vegetables. I asked why he would want someone around who he has to watch so closely and he said it wasn't his fault, his mother has already signed the documents with the President and now she has to live here, but "Don't Worry", he can control her. When I asked why such a science genius could be such a brat he said "don't ask me, ask Adriana. She is the one who does those things". When he saw that I wasn't real excited about a 6 year old mad scientist bringing her experiments here he said "Don't Worry. I'll keep her handcuffed to me at all times." I feel better now.