red trillium clump in lower left corner...

Lovely though Lori..such a contrast to your previous pic!

I'm sorry if I seem to complain a lot! lol... I haven't been out "doing" in the garden because of the black flies and mosquitoes! If it warms up fast and stays warm they will disappear but the long term weather says we will have a cool wet summer so that means they'll be with us a bit longer! Grrrr..... Winter is Coming... or perhaps it has never left!

Eugh...I wouldnt be out there either. I hate flies and mozzies think my blood is haute cuisine! Theres always hope Lori. The long term weather forecast is hardly ever correct. X

thanks Karen! I lathered myself with bug repellent and took these few pics... I can understand how they sometimes cause deer to run mad. The real pestilence, deer and horse flies, have yet to arrive. They come with the hot weather and evince the same effect!

Oh lori, I feel for you, there's nothing worse whilst gardening then a constant itch, swat, scratch! Is any time of the day better, like very early morning?

It's an experience I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. When the huge horse flies start it can be real misery because they can bight through a t-shirt. It's also a little like a star wars movie with them circling your head like it was the death star! just awful! yes, very early morning is probably best, M. but then the blackflies and mozzies are at their best at sunrise! High Noon! lol...

You need beekeeper gear and flysquatters drawn at high noon then Lori lol. Gardening by moonlight maybe? Sorry it's definitely no fun gardening in those circumstances, it must sap so much of your enjoyment and enthusiasm. How do gardeners in your neck of the wood cope?

with great determination, M! ;-) This Tues. morn, at the end of a strange month, weatherwise, the sun is hot and the wind is a breeze!... I still have some planting to do and it's so wet that I can't cultivate my veggie patch. There's a chance of rain this afternoon too... so I'll do what I can in the greenhouse and weed the red leaf lettuce which is coming up by itself!... the kale which seems to have made it through the winter, even with deer predation, and all the herbs which are looking wonderful; while lathered in an anti-bug concoction that could be as toxic to me as it is to the bugs! It's liberating to be the age where I can contemplate using things (like deet) that hitherto would have shortened my life by a decade!

You know I've found myself beginning to think like that...not sure if it's a good thing though!
Isn't it funny that your herbs are doing so well, since most herbs thrive in hot dry sunshine.