The Asian pear tree Back in May, Molly the Cat suggested I keep tabs on how certain parts of the Mama's garden are progressing throughout the summer. Here's the original post .  And, here are what those spots look like seven weeks later. Bean vines are climbing up the wires. The Mama has harvested a hand full already. Other kind of beans are growing in the middle boxes. See how well the morning glories have grown. Because it's not being watered as much (drought, you know), the apple tree hasn't many leaves. A few apples are growing though. You can see one near the top right hand corner of the picture. Mama planted four eggplant plants at the end of May. I'm impressed at how they're bursting with fruit in simply four weeks. We ate one eggplant last week. It looks like we'll be eating more soon.

The Husband and I are wandering around today celebrating his birthday. Whoot! Whoot! Whoot! This song is is for him. My answer, of course, is: Yup. Always!

The butterflies cheered Tilda-Hilda and me on as we slooooooowly pedaled up the long inclines. They flitted alongside us, weaving among the wild mustard flowers on the side of the road. A couple of the crazy butterflies played chicken with us, flying at us and swerving away at the last second. At one point, two ground squirrels popped in front of Tilda-Hilda and me, and ran, ran, ran. "Hurry up, hurry up," I called, nearly catching up with them. A vehicle passed Tilda-Hilda and me. The squirrels dived into the brush. An old guy (probably a bit younger than me) was taking photos of birds in a faraway tree with a camera with a humongous lens. I stopped to talk to him, thinking he was one of the photographers who posted their amazing photos at a Facebook group I pop in now and then. As we chatted, a woman in a red SUV pulled up beside us. "There's a wonderful picture around the curve to take. A deer is sitting beneath a bush. It's so cute." "Tha

When I was very young, I imagined that giants lived on the hills and mountains. Have I finally spotted one? It's time for The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by Dragonstar. Click here to find other participants.

My Alphabe Thursday theme—Places I've Been Last year, the Husband and I drove home from San Diego, about 465 miles, in one day.  As young selves, the Husband and I were great long-distance freeway drivers. We each could go hours without stopping. Now, we want a bathroom, as well as our bodies need to stretch out of our cramped sitting positions, every 90 minutes or so. When I'm a passenger, I entertain myself by taking photos out the window, of which I'm sharing some with you today. Hope you enjoy the road trip up southern and central California. Our trip home started on Interstate 5. Almost immediately we were startled by the towering San Diego California Temple (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) at the side of the freeway. This is the northern edge of San Diego County. This terrain has always intrigued me. Not sure why. Just north of here starts a bunch of beach towns. See the two people sticking cameras out their windows on the lef

Today's outing was more of Tilda-Hilda sitting around and waiting for me downtown. She hung out in front of a coffee shop while I was at a meeting. When that was done, we tootled around town so I could take photos here and there. All told, we were out about two hours.  Discounting the time for the meeting and picture taking, Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled about 4 miles in 20 minutes. I don't know about Tilda-Hilda, but I broke into a sweat.

My ABC Wednesday theme: The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs. . .and Fingers The Mama doesn't drive anymore because she can't pass the eye test for her driver's license. (Thank goodness for that.) She gets annoyed with night and dimly lit scenes in movies on the TV because she can't quite make out what's going on, no matter how bright we make the monitor. But, in her garden, the mad horticulturist has x-ray vision, with a side of radar. Do I see that lone, lemon leaf in the middle of the geraniums? Of course not. The Mama does. Do I see the banana blossom sprouting within the banana grove? Nope. The Mama does. Do I see that big chayote hanging in the midst of the miracle tree? Uh-uh. The Mama does. It's the letter X at ABC Wednesday , a meme began by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and today hosted by Roger Green and his ABC team. Click here to check out other X posts by bloggers around the world.