July 3-2-1

This is a new swap on Swap-Bot called July 3-2-1. There are three questions in this swap: 3 things that made you happy in July, 2 things you're looking forward to in August, and 1 thing from July that you'd rather forget. 

Here are my answers:

3 things that made you happy in July

1. Taking a trip to Grand Marais to do a photography workshop with Layne Kennedy. 

I learned how to take photos where the water looks smooth as it flows over rocks. This is at Cascade River in Grand Marais.

This waterfall is at Grand Portage State Park. 

2. Seeing three wren families nest in birdhouses we provided, feed their families, and then have the babies successfully fledge. 

This wren is at one of the birdhouses that we put up late last summer. It was too late for nesting season. However, it was chosen this year as a home by a wren family. This little wren isn't too happy I was working in the garden near her home. 

Another new house we put up last year is actually a chickadee roosting box. This wren family had a huge home. It was right by the driveway, so every time that we would get in and out of the car, the mother wren would peek out the door of her home. 

The mother and father wren didn't like it if we stayed too long in the driveway. They would chatter at us to let us know to give them more space. 

3. Seeing the flowers blooming in the gardens.

There is a lot of bee balm this year - three types - that the bees and butterflies are loving. This purple/pink bee balm is quite tall and has grown in width as well. We also have a pale lavender and a vibrant red bee balm.  

On an end-of-the-year planting effort last August, I found these flowers at Menards. It was questionable if they would bloom a second year, but they have come back strong and have been blooming much of the summer. 

I like seeing how flowers look before they bloom.

This is a native mountain mint plant. The photo doesn't quite capture the subtle lavender on the lowest leaves. We planted a couple of these plants in 2020. Much to our surprise, they have spread beautifully and have filled in an area of Olivia's garden.

A common sight in our gardens are bumblebees, native bees, and honey bees. 

2 things you're looking forward to in August

1. Entering projects in the county fair and then spending a day enjoying the fair. 

Last year, because of the pandemic, there was no county fair. I've been doing some projects throughout the year and have 48 to enter in this year's fair. One year...many years ago...I entered a cake that I wanted to make. It was a movie theme one and received the Grand Champion award!

When the girls were younger, we would visit the fair and I'd have them sit by the cow statue. I haven't seen it in recent years.

2. Cooler weather so I can walk the dogs again.

I should also add - in addition to the cooler weather - days when the air quality is good and isn't smoke-filled because of the Canadian wildfires. The air in Minnesota has been very poor recently and outdoor exercise isn't recommended. 

Cooler morning weather with low humidity is ideal dog-walking weather. Danny sleeps in late, so he misses those morning walks.

Aspen loves being up early and seeing the wildlife.

Cooper loves looking and listening for wildlife - especially the deer, sandhill cranes, ducks, geese, pheasants, and turkeys.

Scooby, at 14 years old, just enjoys getting out and walking. He loves long walks.

1 thing from July that you'd rather forget

1. High temperatures and no rain caused some of the sod that we planted to die. 

Seeing the dying or dead sod with weeds coming up was so frustrating. In 2019, we put sod down ourselves in one-third of our backyard due to the fire and flooding of 2018. You can see below how bad the yard looks...and that's not even the worst of it. 

I am hoping that there is more rain going into September and October so that the trees and perennials have enough moisture for making it through the winter.