June complete, July ready in my never ending calendar, and more

I have friends who create these calendars every month and they are outstanding.  Colorful, well decorated, some use stamps, other draw by hand.  Me?  I simply can't get the hang of all that artistry.  So obviously, what you see is what you get.  And it isn't much!

Most of June was spent making ICADs and my final swap pages for our international swap.  Decorations were stickers I found as I was cleaning in my craft room.  That's a project that may last an entire month, because I want to change many things around and get rid of lots of things I no longer use since my tastes and my art have changed so drastically over the years.

July is ready to be filled in, boring as it may be.  Maybe I'll be inspired to actually decorate July's calendar page, and then again, maybe not.

Since you have been so patient, reading my minutia, and laughing at my poor attempt to keep this calendar going, I thought I would share an update on my "flower bed" and front garden.

I completely cleaned out my little pond that used to hold fish and water lilies, but now could be a mosquito magnet.  I still had some "mosquito dunks" (some people call them donuts) left over from years past, so threw two in the standing water.

For those of you who are scientists, or have a small water feature on your property, these "donuts" contain an active ingredient derived from a naturally-occurring soil bacterium, called Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis or Bti.  They kill both larvae and active biting mosquitoes.

I managed to get rid of many, many small trees that started as seed this spring and grew tall enough for me to see them.

I edged around my bricks for the second time this summer, something I regretted not doing the last time I mowed.

As I was edging, I noticed my echinacea or cone flowers have finally started to bloom.  Maybe the bees will be by to pollinate and take some pollen to their hive for honey.  Of course, I have no idea where that hive is. 

On their last legs are my day lilies.  I took a few photos of some that had bloomed in the back yard, but haven't shown them yet.

I never got a good shot because the wind was furious at the time I was out taking photos.

Back at my small "pond," I want to make a point.  My friend Sally gets on me for any water that might be standing in my yard.  So when she told me she had several large containers she had "thrown" on her back patio that I could use for sorting and storage, I jumped at the opportunity.

When I picked them up at her house, they were not just filthy, they were also filled with green algae, leaves, and stagnant water.  Had I known what I was getting into, I might have passed.  I finally scrubbed and washed and got them clean using a scrub brush, my garden hose, and a tiny bit of bleach.  I left them on the porch overnight to dry completely before bringing them in the next morning before I went to bed.  Now I am ready to sort and fill to my heart's content.

Speaking of sorting, I'm sorting through my published blog posts for one to share again on the 2nd of July.  Hope you will join me.

Thanks for dropping by to see what's going on in my world because your continued support of my art and my blog means so very much to me.