HEAT: Cool Pools, Moonflower, Ice Cream -

Above - Rattray's Camp, Mala Mala, South Africa - 2010 & 2012

Stunning plunge pool/outdoor shower - elephants passing by in the

river below.

Vumbura Plains, Botswana - 2010

Personal plunge pool overlooking the Okavango Delta.

Hyatt Hotel, Raleigh, NC - a night now and then 

for a 'staycation' - before COVID of course!

 

So, no pool, no beach trips, no visits to a lake or pond

right now. Thankful for cool indoor air, whirring

 ceiling fans, tall iced drinks, ice cream.

I made my own this week, Pistachio, and it's good!

Served here in one of my dear friend Gina's

pretty bee bowls.

The garden is struggling in this heat of course.

Bob and I were out there very early this morning,

watering and dead heading petunias, geraniums,

soaking hydrangeas and the pots of basil etc. 

Last evening I spied this first moonflower 

unfurling its petals - watched for a couple of hours, 

then caught the full blown flower before dusk. 

My moonflowers and morning glories are now

 tangled happily together, clambering up the porch.

MOONFLOWER

Ipomoea alba, sometimes called the tropical white morning-glory or moonflower

 or moon vine, is a species of night-blooming morning glory, native to tropical

 and subtropical regions of the New World, from northern Argentina north to Mexico, 

Florida and Puerto Rico. Wikipedia

Here's to another week ahead.

Stay cool, be strong, remain well dear friends.

No travel, so enjoy cherries - and the backyard -

Illustration by Charles Robinson

From A Child's Garden of Verses.

by Robert Louis Stevenson 

1850-1894

Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,

Ripe I cry,

Full and fair ones

Come and buy.

  English Folk Song ~ poet Robert Herrick 1591-1674

I love making a cherry clafoutis when these sweet, firm and

 flavorful dark red stone fruits hit the market.

Yes, it's cherry ripe time! They are stacked upon grocery produce

 shelves in boxes and bags, and are really hard to resist.

These are also excellent for eating fresh - just rinse first!

 This is when I truly wish I lived in the Pacific Northwest where most

 of our cherries are grown in beautiful Washington State.

The mahogany red Bing variety now being picked are large, firm, 

just juicy enough, and with an intense vibrant flavor. They keep well and

 are perfect for this classic French dessert.

If you're my age, give or take a few years, you will be familiar with the

always smiling, soft-spoken Ina Garten, author of many great cookbooks

featuring 'Easy French Food You Can Make at Home', and her

 Food Network TV show, Barefoot Contessa. Ina lived in France for a while 

so really knows her way around a classic French kitchen.

I use Ina's clafoutis recipe from her cookbook Barefoot in Paris,

 adding a dash of black raspberry Chambord liqueur for extra flavor - 

and I always seem to have a bottle hanging around!

What's cooking in your kitchen this weekend?

Young blue jay chilling out.

The baby birds of spring are growing quickly. Juveniles now, they have learned

 their way about the garden and seem familiar with places to cool off now the

 heat of our southeastern summer smothers us all.

 

Mockingbird almost all grown up!

Soon I'll show you what's going on in our back garden area - changes are underway.

Scraps of paper notes, my silly little sketches, a notebook of squiggles, a folder of

torn pages from magazines, garden books, landscape plans. . . . . I have them all

piled here on the table and the dream in my head.

Dreams need plans.

Plans need money.

Some work needs professionals.

Hope we're up for it!

There's still some good in life -

Yes, these days are tough to say the least.

Seeking out little niceties and unexpected surprises

 are often required to bring a smile to the face, 

a warm feeling in the heart . . . . . . . . . and a giggle

 which is always so good for general wellbeing.

Sitting here at the dining room table a movement on the porch caught my eye. 

It's already hot and will become much hotter as the day rolls on.  

This little guy is preparing for another scorcher with a lengthy guzzle from the

 fountain (which by the way no long founts but makes a good bird bath!).

 I grabbed my phone a managed a few shots.

Notice how plump he is - I smiled.

A long drink warmed my heart as it cooled his thirst -  

and just look at his funny back legs position, 

I truly giggled out loud when I saw that!

Quarantined, locked down (or up!), self-distanced . . . .  

. . . call these crazy days, which have now become

 months, difficult, different, whatever. 

We can't give up.

Perhaps no longer the best life, but still we should 

try to make it a good life.

My dear blog friend Elizabeth says it all so

 well in today's post on her always fabulous blog -

PINE CONES and ACORNS

Read her great post then go enjoy all the lovely things

 she shares such as food, recipes, fashion, books, and

 so much more.