Dragonfly Bonus!

So ... just in case I don't find the time to write up a post tomorrow (still intense work week continues), here's a bonus 'bug' photo Fernymoss captured in the garden on Tuesday, June 24. He couldn't have asked for a better pose from this colorful little guy who was taking an afternoon siesta on one of the boulders in the front bed. Fernymoss said that the dragonfly apparently was as interested in him, as he was in getting a good shot of a welcome garden visitor. We don't see as many dragonflies as we would like, so it's an exciting moment when we can get up close and personal with one, as demonstrated by this photo. As I noted in a previous post, the Mallows currently blooming should be attracting tons of bees who just aren't there (at least yet). We did spot one lone (very small) bumblebee last weekend working on the Rue blooms, but that has been the exception of late. I also got a report from Ferny that we had a hummingbird visiting the now-blooming Bee Balm (pics soon!), but it got away so quickly he didn't have a chance to grab the camera.

In other garden news, we were really starting to see a real need for a rain (yes, I know, not that long ago we all wanted it to go away), and with the positively sultry day we had today (high of 87 with a dew point of 75!) and the dry weather of late, things were starting to really get dry around here. Well, it started thundering loudly around 7:00 p.m. though the skies were clear and sunny. Eventually that system (which was to our North) sank down our way and we had a nice round of thunderstorms move through from about 9:00 to 10:30, so the garden got a good watering tonight. (Fernymoss had given certain new areas a pre-emptive watering earlier.) That heat, then rain should really get some things (namely tomatoes, basil and corn) going great guns. I likely won't be able to make it out to do much in the garden until this weekend at the earliest, so at least I don't have to worry too much about the watering. I'm appreciative of this evening's fortunate weather timing, not something I usually brag about relative to Iowa summer weather!