Summer pleasures........................

The eloquent, elegant, and always delightful Pamela Terry, designer, author, traveler, owner of magnificent Edward, and one of my favorite blogging friends, recently asked her readers "what were they enjoying this Summer day?"    

 You can visit and enjoy Pamela's always delicious posts here at From the House of Edward.

Yesterday I was able to spend one of my favorite kind 

of days, so here's what my response would be to 

Pamela's question.

A Summer day in my garden. It started early due to the building heat and humidity of a typical North Carolina morning. I pulled a muscle in my back (again!) last weekend so have been careful in what I do around the house and garden. Yesterday I was able to prune the now fried, then drowned, hydrangeas.......due to terrible weather here whilst I was away in the Pacific Northwest, then tidy up a bit after Bob mowed the lawn, water the pots and hanging baskets.........and my favorite bit, take photos of Nature's glory.

Click pics to enlarge ~

Who is he?

A grasshopper? A locust? I can't find him among 'green garden bugs' online. His yellow eyes and 'tail' should identify him - anyone else spied this one, or know who he is please?

Edited: Thanks so much to the anonymous reader who left a comment saying this is a Katydid! I checked online and it definitely is, and he is actually a she! I can't recall ever seeing one of these beautiful insects in the garden here previously.

What amazing camouflage! He certainly seemed happy on the hydrangeas, climbing rapidly from flower to leaf until he found a shady spot.

I also hosed out the gazebo.............removing spider webs, creepy crawlies, dust, and general detritus of outdoor living. Replaced the cushions stored in the potting shed whilst away, and added the white candles to the olive basket I mentioned in an earlier post. We enjoyed dinner out here in the evening, our first this Summer. We have foxes still, including a young one who stopped by to sniff around the grill after cooking veggie burgers, red peppers, and Halloumi (from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus) cheese slices..........to make this interesting and tasty new salad now that cherries are in season.

Recipe from UK Country Living magazine - July 2013 issue

I checked the two fig trees, one shown above, and am amazed at the number of figs to be harvested later this year. I will be up to my eyeballs making figgy jam come early September. Note the presently empty bird feeder to keep birds and squirrels away from the figs - we'll fill it again post-harvest!

I decided the now spent pale green Hosta flowers were just too pretty to throw out with the yard waste being collected by the city truck yesterday morning. Cut them for the dining room table, a bit contemporary but I like the mix............

................and those no longer blue hydrangeas, already wearing their faded green Autumnal gowns, are still beautiful and ready to dry for arrangements, so I cut a bunch for the hearth.

May I continue with Pamela's thoughts and ask what you might be enjoying on this Summer day?