Storm watch this evening -

Well those few lovely calm and sunny days have flown on by and today we are under a severe storm watch.  Possibility of tornadoes, large size hail, high winds, and of course thunder, lightning and rain. 

We've 'battened down the hatches' here. Hopefully it won't be too bad and I'll be back tomorrow with a sigh of relief.

Colors in the garden this week.

 

The gentle Mourning doves - they pair for life and are delightful to watch.

Garden birds are busy, many are arriving in pairs to eat, drink and 

seek nesting places.

Eastern bluebirds - female above, male below - but they won't move in there, 

entrance is too small!

European starlings, not a favorite bird, but they are beautifully 'dressed.'

Cut a last bunch of daffodils before the storm - they could get battered.

Stay safe if you are in the path of these bad storms today.

Rain, rain, rain and hydrangeas. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . but not all is bad!

This week's stormy weather has been bad - the humidity

has just about done us in. It remains hot here. 

Garden chores have been put on hold as everything is totally sodden.

More storms later today but the forecast shows some sun

tomorrow then more storms Saturday.

Next week may be close to perfect, so I'm

watching and waiting, and of course enjoying the 

floral offerings made possible by the rains of May. 

 Blooms today on the shrub in the side garden by the birdhouse.

Summer 2016

I will have very few flowers on these two Nikko Blue hydrangeas in front of 

the porch this summer - they were cut down to the ground when the cottage was

re-sided and painted last fall. Next year hopefully they'll be blooming as they 

always have. . . . . they've put on good healthy growth over the past month with
 so much rain as you can see below.

Are you growing hydrangeas?
They can certainly be showstoppers in a garden.
Moisture, via rain or hand watering, is important - they are thirsty shrubs 
and prefer part-shade, although I must admit most of my plants are in full sun.
By afternoon on hot days the leaves curl and they look a bit downtrodden,
 but by early evening they stand to attention again!
They are my favorite shrub and I love to gather the blooms in autumn 
for drying and using in the cottage.

As we move into June our gardens should be lovely.
Here's to a wonderful weekend dear readers.

Rain soaked Pacific Northwest coastline. . . . . . . . . . .

Another part of the California coast is very different from Monterey Bay

which I recently shared HERE.

There is a town in northern California named Trinidad - and I must say it's

 totally unlike the southern Caribbean island of the same name.

It sits on a rocky bluff overlooking Trinidad Bay surrounded by redwoods and spruce. 

It's a seaside village, often compared to a quaint Cornish fishing village with a small

 fleet of fishing boats, a working pier, and restaurants serving great seafood.

The day we stopped here was at the end of the typhoon which paid the

 Pacific Northwest an unusual visit. Rain was extremely heavy, lashing the windows

 of the comfy little restaurant we chose for a great seafood lunch. Unable to spend

 time outdoors in the downpours, I managed to take these photos from the car.

Named one of the most spectacular and pristine segments of the California coast,

Trinidad has been established as a California Coastal National Monument Gateway -

an area that offers the best shore-based opportunities to discover and view offshore

 rocks and islands and their inhabitants. The Trinidad rocks support one of the most

 diverse seabird colonies in California with twelve species and over 100,000 

breeding individuals.

As beautiful as it looked in the storm - just as we were leaving the rains did let up a bit -

 I would love to return some day in sunshine - it truly is a lovely ocean area.

P.S.  Many, many thanks for all the much appreciated

 Birthday greetings on the last post - you are all

 such wonderful friends.

Break required - lightning strike!

As we rush around readying for the upcoming trip

of course things had to happen to stop us in our tracks!

We have no cable, therefore no TV, no Internet, and no land line to call

hotels in Ireland to make the remaining hotel reservations, grrrrrrr! 

As of yesterday afternoon, when a lightning bolt, the likes of which I've

 never seen, heard or felt before - pretty scary - struck a big oak tree next to

 the cottage, stripping its bark and tossing it hither and thither, but thankfully

 not crashing to the ground or on our roof.

Just to let you know I have to take a break, can't comment now - but will be back
soon hopefully. 

Thankfully coffee shops have WIFI but I can't spend the day here!

Photo Challenge for June - Stormy Weather

I'm cruising and have to make this quick!  Joining in Donna's always fun Personal Photo Challenge.

All pics taken with my Olympus SP-590UZ with a little editing via PicMonkey.

A sunny welcome followed by a sudden and quite unexpected snowstorm - even the
penguins seemed startled - and I was grateful I had a big warm parka and gloves.

Macquarie Island, Australia - the sub-Antarctic Islands cruise on M/S Orion - 2011

See more here - http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2012/01/magical-macquarie-island-part-i.html

The old city of Hue, Vietnam - December 2012

It poured down hard but was so very beautiful, the rainstorms went on and on - sightseeing 

was definitely soggy!  It was of course "the wet", one of the two seasons in this part of the world.

Hue, Vietnam, still in the pelting rain - "taxi anyone?"
Big sales on plastic ponchos that day in December, 2012

To see more of that damp trip go here - http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2011/12/taking-long-way-home-from-vietnam.html

Pop on over to visit Donna at this month's Personal Photo Challenge - http://apersonalphotochallenge.blogspot.com