Garden wildlife surprise -

 Oh deer!!!!

This sweet faced doe (I think) was resting quietly in the back garden

when I opened the kitchen window blinds early yesterday morning.

She must have had breakfast as the hosta leaves were decimated, the 

climbing roses nibbled, she looked very comfortable and relaxed. . . .and

didn't hurry off.

Look at those eyelashes - I want them!

Thatcher Rock, Torquay, Devon. . . . . . . .I'm on my way home!

Many thanks for all the kind wishes left on my last post wishing me

a great trip home to see my family and friends after waiting so long.  

Far too hot and we need rain!

The daylilies are over.  I don't have many as they are not my favorite, however they were pretty this year as they now seem to have changed to double blooms......don't ask me how!

Sunflowers I do love but it is another summer with none surviving in my garden - all the seeds I planted were devoured by wildlife. These were from another summer a few years back when the deer and squirrels apparently weren't as hungry!

The two fawns are still around and looking healthy. They stick together and make a beeline for my neighbors tomatoes - I admit to chasing them off. Well not really chase, when they see me coming with the camera these skittish babies are gone in a flash!

This one is under the fig tree, looking back at me sneaking out the front door.  

Speaking of figs. . . . . .they have actually become a nuisance this year - just too many, too high to pick - so the over ripe ones are now falling and covering the lawn and splattering onto the driveway. This means constant hosing down to prevent walking them into the house. What will we do?  Bob is talking of taking the tree down!  Me, no way could I do that, I love this tree. However, what we thought was a good pruning last year - but seems to have made the tree put out more very healthy growth - must be repeated, and in a more drastic way, especially cutting back the horizontal spread. I will be discussing this with my tree guy later this fall. I must add that the bees are loving the ripe figs. I will do a lot to help bees, and if we leave them alone they stay away from us. 

Brown Thrasher enjoying figs.

Our heatwave continues, no rain this week. Heat index made it well over 100F the past two days and will again today. Thunder rumbled off in the distance last evening but not a drop fell from the cloudy sky. Forecast shows possible rain each afternoon, hopefully some will come.

The garden really looks sad as far as blooms - nothing pretty to cut and bring inside so I'll buy flowers later today when I stop at Trader Joe's!  Even the basil appears to be giving up the ghost. . . . . .perhaps I can make one more batch of pesto for the freezer this the weekend. 

I am not a summer person. I prefer cool, even cold air. I grew up in rain, fog, mist, often clothed in a waterproof Mackintosh, Wellington boots, wool sweaters, armed with an umbrella much of the time. Yes, here in the southeast, August is my most disliked month and I'm ready for autumn which can't arrive soon enough!!!

Last of the Sunflowers. . . . . . .

I took this photo of my remaining lonely sunflower on Wednesday in

the heat of the day. Each time I tried to focus, the lens clouded 

over with the brutal humidity.  Visible is our grass now browning out.

Today dangerous heat is expected yet again.

The sunflowers must have been exceptionally tasty this year!

Only a few reached maturity, such as this beauty, the remainder 

never grew to expected heights or even bloomed. . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . due to the marauding deer!  

My neighbor sent a photo he took at 6:30 am yesterday of

two grown male deer with large antlers chomping on this last flower.

Then they joined a third male under the fig tree where they tucked 

into the freshly filled bird feeders.

C'est la vie. . . . . . .and it's just too hot to get mad at them!

Have a great weekend and stay cool.

Kitchen notes -

The deer came by the other evening and nibbled on my roses - took all the lovely

 buds forming on the Peace rose (which made me so mad) in front of the porch,

 and many of the red Knockout rosebush buds by the front steps. They come right

 up to the house apparently! These are also Knockouts but off a large bush now

 blooming near the birdhouse which they must not have discovered yet. . . . . . or

 perhaps don't like the flavor of pink!

Speaking of flavor and munching. . . . . . . . . 

Many years ago I said "no more kitchen gadgets, I have no space to keep them."

A few weeks ago, while in our nearby 'Sur La Table' shop, I broke down

and allowed the manager to talk me into this one, she said she loved hers.

 I was actually looking at the spiralizer attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, 

but refused to pay over $100 for that, especially as I would not use it daily.

Want to make more veggies like my zucchini above - think healthy alternative

 to real pasta as we're really trying to cut carbs!

Recently I purchased a small container of pre-made 'zoodles' at the grocery

 store. They were not good, watery, doubtless had some

 type of preservative added, and grossly overpriced.

This OXO Good Grips version (they do make great items), with

 three different blades, was so much cheaper (under $40) and so easy to

use and clean - I'm enjoying it. Now if I can just find a place to store it!!!

Here's OXO's great video showing how much fun this gadget can be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQxopG92bpE

Noises off. . . . . . . .

Last evening I was home alone for several hours.

This doesn't happen to me much these days - a lot different from

the many years Bob traveled around the country, and sometimes

overseas, for his job.

After he retired from the company he returned almost 

immediately and worked a further seven years as a consultant,

traveling even more. All in all, 53 years with the same company.

He'd still be there today if they'd have him - and I never, ever heard

him ever say he didn't like his job, or wish he didn't have to go

to work on any given day during that long career.  Quite amazing!

My santos doll, now stripped of decoration as I try to become more of a

 minimalist, but that's another story for another time.

While Bob was out attending the NCSU women's basketball game,

followed by pizza, with granddaughters, I'm not a sports fan at all, 

I sat here listening to noises. 

Yes, when alone in the quiet, my house makes noises.

First came a text from a neighbor advising me of uninvited garden 

visitors enjoying a supper of my pansies! On opening the front 

door I was stared down by three beautiful deer at the bottom

of the front steps, and they didn't want to leave. I had to go outside,

scold them, clap my hands, shoo them away, then chase them 

 across the lawn to the street where they stood quietly, still 

staring back at me and probably thinking about returning as

soon as I went back into the house.

Note to myself:  How did they ever get so big if these are 

the same babies who enjoyed nibbling the sunflowers last summer?

After that I seemed to hear clicks, taps, groans, twigs falling on the 

roof, the refrigerator humming, the heat cutting on then off, more text

notifications, and then a fox - or perhaps a dog - but a fox sounds more 

romantic, barking at the moon.  Did you see that moon last night? 

So amazingly beautiful. Tonight it will be the biggest and brightest

 Super Moon of 2019, called the Super Snow Moon.

Tonight it will be at its peak but in North Carolina, with possible

overnight freezing rain in the forecast, we may have heavy

 cloud cover so may not have a good view like last night.

I played some music from Les Miserables - the stage version - to fill the void

and block out the odd sounds. When Bob's here in the evenings the TV is

 usually on and the house is definitely not quiet.

Not too much later I heard Bob's car coming up the driveway.

He brought me two slices of pizza - I enjoyed one and will have the

 other tonight. 

It was a different kind of evening being here alone. It made me

realize how good it is to have someone else in the house, especially

 at night when there are noises off!

Hanging out with wildlife. . . . . . .

Male cardinal in the Magnolia liliiflora tree, already budding.

The weather here is typical for January, rain one day, sunny the next, but always

 chilly with murmurings of possible snow which either never shows or surprises

 us when we least expect it.

Little happenings in the garden excite me. Last evening, in the quiet of dusk,
I looked out the window at three young deer standing motionless on the front lawn.
Then the smallest came and started nibbling at my pansy/tulip pots - a no-no!
 I grabbed the camera - sorry a bit blurry - then tapped on the window and he
 trotted off to join his family.

Northern flicker on fig tree suet treat.

I've been out of commission, and may continue to be, when it
 comes to blogging or much else regarding computers.

Just seem to have lost my get up and go since the holidays.
I still have shoulder problems . . . .  .but I shouldn't complain 
as other family members and friends have much more to be 
worried about where health is concerned.

The squirrels are looking fat, healthy and bushy-tailed. 
The females are now pregnant and should have their babies in February.
This one I noticed this morning, perhaps a mom-to-be.
Wildlife all around lately. The fox wanders through the side garden and
crosses the street to the little wood, same one where the deer hang out.
Today is warmer with sunshine and I've just wandered around, pulling a
 few weeds, trying to decide just where to prune the Japanese maple and
fig in late Winter ready for Spring.

As my little sign outside the front door reminds me. . . . . . . 

"A garden is a thing of beauty and a job forever"

Problems with Google, Blogger, and now big changes with
'new' PicMonkey have just caused me to lose interest in my 
computer. I'm too old to learn new tech stuff. I was happy with
 what I had and was used to. Why do they do this . . . . . okay, 
okay I know why, we all know why, but that doesn't help sort it
 all out unless you live with a smart IT person! 
 I used to tell Bob I wish I'd married a plumber or an electrician - a
general contractor would be even better. . . . .I can see clearly now,
 I should have tied the knot with a computer genius!

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying time reading some great books. . . . .I'll
 share those with you in another post.

Love to all. . . . . . . .especially any of you Google+ people where 
I've been unable to leave comments for some time now - sorry!

Monday morning moments. . . . . .

Another frightening electrical storm at midnight brought us to the front door to watch

 a river rushing down the driveway taking some of the back garden with it!  

This summer's storms have been horrendous here, so much rain falling so fast,

 with thunder and lightening only angry gods could dispatch in the night.  

This morning is lovely with bright sunshine, even a wee bit cooler in the early hours.

The doe is back. Spying her under the fig tree, I grabbed the camera and watched her

 head toward my neighbor's tomatoes. I think she looks healthy but still no other 

family members seem to be with her.

Yesterday I shopped at LIDL and added this bunch of sunflowers to my basket. 
Five stems for $3.99, not bad. I liked that they were still somewhat closed. 
Added greenery from the garden, hosta leaves, variegated privet, a sprig
 of ivy - hopefully they will open fully and be pretty for the week ahead as 
I settle back into daily life after traveling.

New Jersey grown sunflowers.

Are you, like me, ready for Autumn?

I just hope it dries up soon - at least the trees should be

colorful this year as they start to change.

Oh deer!

Here's a wake up photo!  

Ms. Jane Doe was back yesterday afternoon around 5PM. Just happened to

 look out and saw her under the fig tree eating some of the dropped fruits.

 She saw us looking at her through the glass storm door and didn't seem at all

 concerned - I think she's may be getting too tame, or she just likes what's on 

our garden menu!  

She certainly is photogenic - and look at those eyelashes!
I took over fifty photos but will just share few here.

'Jane' then moved on to the bird feeder which was almost empty from so many

 hungry birds hanging out these hot days.  We allowed her to nibble for a short

 while, and I took my photos - before clapping hands and shooing her off - though 

how she actually gets the seeds out those small holes made for tiny bird

 beaks, is beyond me!

She is so sweet - and I'm almost ready to forgive her a bit of nibbling as she must 
eat - but I'm wondering where the rest of her family might be. I hope she's not an
 orphan and that they have moved on leaving her here alone.