SHORT UPDATE -
In my last blog I told you that we were having trouble with groundhogs. I have been doing a lot of research on them on this fancy machine and while I knew that they were destructive I had no idea just how destructive they really were. Richard (my grandson) tells me that the passage that they have made from the center of our barn to the stone wall in the garden, is about 50 feet long! Obviously, they have created several rooms off of the passage and could, if allowed to continue, undermine the whole center of our barn. We set up the two traps that we borrowed from our neighbor and have had the following results. After 2 days we caught an adult, male or female, who knows?? During the next 2 days we trapped 3 babies. See picture below. Two babies in the trap. The one on the left is eating the apple and both seem to be content to be in the trap. Not to fear, all of you animal lovers out there - they have had humane treatment. They simply have a new address - and it's not heaven!

In the meantime, the Iris continue to give me and my neighbors candy for the eye.

Beautiful yellow with red/purple falls.

A beautiful amber color - new this year to my garden. I have just placed another order with Exline Iris Gardens, located in Berkley Springs, W.Va., for delivery this August.

The weather is beautiful, the wind chimes on the deck are singing and all is right with the world.

Doris