I've wanted to keep a gardener's diary this year, but the blooming season is already well along and I haven't written a word about this year's flowers. I planted some annuals in the spring - pansies and violets and geraniums and such - but the heat has already sent them to the great garden beyond. It's past time to plant the second round of summer flowers - begonias and ageratum and daisies. There is no excuse but laziness for not having emptied out the planters and put in the new flowers. There is a wealth of things in bloom now - tiger lilies (my grandmother had a patch of these at the bottom of her yard near the spring run), dark red lilies in front of the house, cornflowers and Queen Anne’s lace along the side of the road, the vibrant purple of the butterfly bush that we planted last year, a few remaining miniature red roses, and black-eyed susans.

We have a bird feeder (which doubles as a squirrel feeder for those squirrels resolute enough to climb the inkberry bushes and leap the feeder) in the bed outside the breakfast room window. Vinca (the kind with little purple flowers) was planted last year as a ground cover, but it's never really taken off and the mulch contains a fair number of weeds. Because my laziness extends to weeding in addition to planting, I noticed that some of the weeds had grown tall enough that they looked like they were going to flower. It's clear now that the seed from the feeder has found fertile ground and that we'll soon have a small crop of sunflowers.

Many people at work have bought a Blackberry recently, primarily to read their email, although some intrepid souls are trying to use the squat little blue device as a phone also. Do you suppose it's a sin to covet your neighbor's Blackberry?

Dreams: I was in a large hall with very high ceilings, as if an old train station had been transformed into an airport. I was traveling with a group of people and we would soon be boarding our flight (on a dirigible, perhaps). I was carrying a lot of luggage (surprise, surprise) and realized I had left a yellow and blue flowered bag in another part of the hall. Although at first I thought it would be brought along, it then dawned on me that I had not put my name on it. I was torn between trying to go retrieve it or making my flight.

That dream faded before I had a chance to make a decision and I was transported to an underwater world. Only the water was a thick liquid, more like glycerine. I viewed the world from above, and then was in the liquid with the people who lived there. It amazed me that there were no bubbles coming from them and it seemed much like breathing air to be under water. I felt at home in their environment, and had apparently forgotten all about my lost luggage.