Typhoon!

Well, we had some crazy weather. And we were lucky enough to be at its mercy, unable to escape it. Yay us!

My poor irises are just pooped after dealing with all the wind and the rain. They just wanted to lie down for a few minutes.

But this is my New Guinea Impatien in a precious new pot that I bought. Actually, it's a watering can. And not intended in the least to be a planter. But Dan and his handy power drill gave it some drainage holes.

Same with this big bucket.

My little white potted petunias are reblooming.

These Outbacks are just so unusual looking! I can't get enough of them.

My dianthus is finally blooming this year! I'm so excited. It was really looking dead there for a while, but then one day I realized there were little buds on the ends of some of the stalks, and then the next day there was a little pink at the tip, and then this was today!

Aren't they happy?

Just take a gander at all the buds on these lilies! I can't wait for them to open!

The thyme is TAKING OVER!! Anna, will you do a garden marker for me sometime this summer at the Glaze that says, "Keep Off the Indestructible Thyme"?? I would love it!

This is the stuff that we thought was moss rose.

Thank goodness for this $30 garage sale find! Yay for not sweating to death!

Look at these sweet girls! Right after I snapped this picture, Elph started trying to nurse and Ginger kicked her. She was probably like, "What the heck are you doing down there! Get out!"

But they continued the bath anyway.

And then, for some bizarre reason I don't understand, Dan felt the need to wrap Elphie up in his shower towel.

Look at that pitiful little thing!

Dusty Miller and Salvia

Annual flats are on sale right now at my local nursery for $10 each, which is pretty good considering the size. So I went and CONTROLLED MYSELF and only got two. And a hibiscus. And yes, Mom, I planted them all in the same day. ;)

This "hibiscuit" is called Cool Wind. Isn't it pretty? A woman working at the nursery saw it in my basket and commented on how pretty it was.

The whole thing. It was just a 6" pot, so it's a good container one. Especially since I learned my lesson and I'm not planting it in the ground like I did with my pretty one last year -- they're only hardy to 55 degrees!

The clearest picture yet of my nemesia.

The portulaca has multiple flowers now! So pretty. Margarita Peppermint. :)

The Outback Paper Flower. Its buds kind of look like little beetles with all the overlapping shiny stuff, don't they?

The Indestructible Wisteria is growing like crazy since it's started getting watered regularly.

Look at the shoots my coleus are sending up! I think they're going to flower. Interestingly, the Red Velvet coleus (like the one in front) that I kept inside is not doing this.

The far patch of Las Vegas irises is still going strong.

The petunias seem to have appreciated the torrential rain we've had for the past day-and-a-half or so. Yay!

Here are the Dusty Miller and the Red Vista salvia put in on one side of the porch steps. The bad news is, Dan and I finally caved and admitted that what we thought was Jim's moss rose was, in fact, a weed. *tear* So I tore it all out, and I had all this empty space. The annual sale just happened to coincide perfectly.

The other side isn't as uniform, and I can't decide which side I like better.

I just love these violas. They're so happy.

Dan's peach tree had 38 baby peaches on it at last count. That was before Dan took all but 18 off to make sure the poor little tree doesn't die under its own weight. Here are the biggest ones. As usual, sorry about the focus.

In completely unrelated news, I went upstairs when I was finished planting, and found Ginger and Elphie lounging in Elphie's room in the sun. I went downstairs to get my camera, and when I came back up, Ginger was giving Elphie a bath!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!

It was so sweet! Elph was purring like crazy. I'm so glad they're getting along so well now.

And then Elph had her photo shoot.

She's just so darn tiny!

Psycho kitties

Checking to see if Ginger is done with her attack or if she can relax.

They both love the laser pointer. It's one of the few things that brings them together. Literally. ;)

Lazy!

Look at her, all stretched out.

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that the instant after I snapped this picture, Elphie attacked Ginger's tail and an epic battle began.

The Las Vegas on the far side of the porch are going CRAZY! Look at that! I count nine blooms. Just fabulous.

The nameless white and purple ones are also looking beautiful! (And there's a little tiny Las Vegas plant right in front. See that?)

The Vista Red salvia are looking great as well. They're filling out quite nicely. :) I wish I'd bought more!

This is the best picture I've gotten yet of the nemesia. Isn't it pretty?

This is my Margarita Peppermint portulaca. It reminds me of moss rose, a little bit. This is the first bloom I've had on it, and I'm really excited. Apparently it's a succulent, so you have to be careful not to over-water it.

The Outback Paper Flower has a few buds, and it's so pretty when it opens up all the way! (Doesn't it kind of look like a Bloomin' Onion??)

This is that mystery flower in front of the coral bells. Any ideas?

The mailbox verbena. So pretty! The Pink Picotee verbena will definitely be making an appearance again next year. :)

Elphaba Sambo!

Welcome to the family, little kitten!

The lens cap kept dangling, and she thought it would make a nice toy.

My flip flops also seemed to make nice toys.

So did the corner of the windowsill. Pretty much everything is a fabulous toy.

She's a little parrot just like her big sister!

Of course, I have horrible scratch marks all over my shoulder and neck from her sharp little claws. ;)

Dan and I are just marveling at all the tiny places she can fit into! We've had to raise the leg rests on the recliner ends of the couch several times because it's the only way we can get her out.

Unfortunately, Big Sister doesn't seem overjoyed at the new addition.

We pretty much have to monitor them constantly when they're both out.

Elphie seems pretty fearless, ahem, foolhardy.

Ginger really doesn't seem the least inclined to like Elphie.

She's miniature!

In related news, Chuck came over and helped Dan put up the siding on the front of the garage!

But it was my determined boy who pushed through the fact that the garage is still crooked, even though, optical-illusion-style, it looks straight. It's not as easy to fool the siding.

By the way, this is the cute little picket fence Dan put up a few weeks ago next to the driveway. We may or may not paint it. We'll see.

Thumbs up!

These irises are going CRAZY!

The Las Vegas irises on the other side of the porch only have two blooms at the moment, but look at all those buds! Holy cow!

My petunias were looking kind of puny last week, but look at them now! I think one or two of them are inconsistent in coloring -- maybe some just got mixed into my flat? But I don't care. :)

I have the darnedest time getting a clear picture of this little thing. I almost think it might be a columbine, but I'll have to see. It just came up.

The verbena are making good on the nursery's promise that they'd be consistent bloomers all season!

This is (hopefully) the dahlia coming up from the tubers I planted.

My Grape Crush New Guinea impatien earlier today.

And tonight when we got home.

This nemesia, though I have a problem getting a clear picture of it (stupid auto-focus!), is also just really pretty. It's the Sunsatia Mango, which I just think it so pretty. It only had one flower on it when I bought it. :)

I can't get enough of this columbine!

Not sure what this is. It's the same thing that goes around the perimeter of the yard.

It was a little windy. Can you tell? (It's after ten PM right now and it's raining, finally.)

I think this stuff, along the side of the house, growing wild, is lily of the valley. What do y'all think?