Today is a lot cooler, and much less humid, so I spent some time working in the garden, and then took a walk down back. Look what I found growing at the edge of the woods! Does this say late summer or what?
I am going to spend the rest of the afternoon doing hand stitching on a quilt that has been in the works awhile. Last Friday, I went to the Maine quilt show in Augusta, and came home full of ideas for new projects to try. This one has to be done first!

I have forgotten which coneflower this is. It is about three and a half feet tall, and pale pink. A smaller, bright pink one is also blooming at the front of the garden.

This patch of tansy is in the field just to the right of the garden. It used to be in the garden, but seems more like a field plant to me, so moved it. Since then, I am finding patches in other places, not planted by me, but the bird buddies, I guess.

This is the first year that the Joe Pye weed has bloomed without the deer taking the tops off at least once. Truth is, the deer haven’t been around at all, don’t know what is up with that. In other years, we had 5 or 6 out in the field every night. I did see three mama turkeys and a whole bunch of babies in the garden early this morning, but didn’t see anything gone when I went out to check. In the past, they have pulled off little tomatoes, then just left them. Now, that makes me mad.

These cherries are from Washington state, not from my garden. I never noticed before how pretty they look in the sun, especially with covered with drops of dew. They are back in the refrigerator now, but won’t last the afternoon. We are on our third hazy, hot day, and the cherries will be part of a cool lunch I have planned.

click on photo for larger view

The garden is bouncing with butterflies. Last week, I could see four or five monarchs on the milkweed in the field next to the garden all the time. But now that the purple liatris is coming out, they have abandoned the milkweed, and grown in numbers. I can see them in the air, going from plant to plant from my kitchen window all day long. We are having a heat wave (90º is a heat wave in Maine) and they don’t even seem to mind that. I am wondering if they are drawn to the color purple, or just to the plant.

I have been in Maine for years, but had never been to this place! Yesterday, I finally went with some friends to see the house and herb garden. It was the home of a ship’s mast agent from England and is located in the historic Stroudwater Village area of Portland. The house was built in 1755, and the glass in the windows shows it. I tried to get a little of that detail in this shot. Look here for more info on the Tate House.

The herb garden located behind the house. Lots of medicinal things growing here, and even a plant used to stuff mattresses. At the bottom of the sloping backyard is the Stroudwater River. A nice view, don’t you think?