Digging a Path

What a hot and humid summer we have had!  I think the only ones who enjoy it are the humming birds and butterflies.  I was reading about butterflies and apparently in addition to preferring milkweed for laying their eggs and butterfly bush nectar, they love being in the sun.  Glad something does. :)

Like the rest of the country, we haven't had much water fall from the sky this summer.  Our backyard gets the full blast of the sun the entire day.  This means that the grass really hasn't got a chance without some regular rainfall.  This is the second summer where we've had huge patches of dead grass.  That combined with the fact our corgi isn't as mobile as he used to be, I cried "UNCLE".

After our family reunion in Maine, my in-laws stayed the following weekend to help get rid of dead grass.  DH dug it up and DFIL shook out the dirt to help lay the slate path.  Even if it hadn't be a tough summer, the slates had been taken over by thorny weeds and needed to be dug out.

Here's the finished product.  My DFIL predicts that I will expand the gardens the path meets.  Maybe next year.  This year we're off to get some drought tolerant grass seed to spread when summer is done.  For now Cad is excited to not have to dodge thorny weeds as he gets off his ramp and I am excited to have something pretty to look at instead of dead grass.

The butterfly bush was the biggest it has ever been this year.  9 1/2 feet!!!  I can actually see it through my kitchen window and it's scent is heavenly.  To help the guys I trimmed back a bunch of the stems (the gardens were sorely in need of attention anyway) and brought them inside which made working at the island simply lovely.  My DMIL was reading, I was coloring some images, and we both listened to her eldest nephews fiance do an NPR radio show live from Pittsburgh.  (If you can follow all that remind me to tell you about what I heard about Ferris. LOL!)  Ahh, the wonders of streaming!  This is one of those times where technology brings family together. :)

I'm fluttering by with this post here:
Outdoor Wednesday
Garden Tuesday
Cottage Garden Party

Happy Wednesday!