Meeting Blog Friends!

This was a fun day!
Ross and I had the great pleasure of meeting 2 blog friends on this muggy Saturday, which promised rain, and gave only a little.

I've corresponded with "Apple" of "The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree" (on the left), for over a year through our blogs, and have just recently "met" her sister, "Country Girl", who shares a blog with Apple called "My Sister's Garden".

A remarkable phenomenon about blogging is the feeling of friendship without having actually met.....so that when finally meeting face to face, we felt like old friends. The four of us had a nice lunch, with lots of good conversation, and plenty of laughter (if you want a good chuckle read Apple's post about bathroom follies encountered on her recent vacation), after which we took a tour of the gardens.
I've been wanting to thin some perennials, and the girls were happy to take some off my hands, so we set about digging, and loaded up Apple's car. It's such a pleasure to find a home for the plants so they don't end up on the compost heap.

Riley and Max kept us company and got under our feet. Max of course, got stepped on a few times :)
At one point I stuck the spading fork into the lawn and it fell over (because the soil is so dry), narrowly missing one of the twins lying a little to my right. Apple said "That must be Riley" (because he didn't get clobbered), and sure enough, it was :)
My dear husband likes to rib me about being such a chatterbox. He tells me I "overtalk"...and I have to admit (sheepishly), in this instance, he's right. Poor Apple and CG probably went home with sore ears (sorry girls!). However, we did enjoy each other's company, and hopefully we'll meet again in the not-too-distant future. They've invited us to see their homes and gardens and I'm sure we'll head their way one of these days.
Meanwhile they'll be busy planting for a day or two. We're supposed to get some decent rain tomorrow afternoon and that's something to look forward to. It's hard to establish new plants in such dry conditions.

Thanks so much for coming girls!! We thoroughly enjoyed the visit :)

The flowers behind us in the 2 top photos (which some of you remarked about in the "Bailey" post) are called Golden Glow (Rudbeckia Laciniata -"Hortensia"), AKA "Outhouse Plant". Isn't that a great name? :) Can't you just see them beside an old outhouse?

They began blooming in early August and are coming to the end of their bloom time now, which you can see in the top photos. They're perennials and are very easy care, except for the need to have a bit of support to keep from flopping over.

They've been gorgeous with the Gloriosa Daisies (Rudbeckia Hirta) in front. Here you can see our outdoor wood furnace and wood pile in the background.

The cats like to climb on the rustic fence that Ross built last year to keep them upright. This is pretty Miss Cleo.

Max likes to keep his feet on the ground, which is definitely a good stategy for him :) His leg has healed very well, by the way. The only way I can tell the twin brothers apart is to look at Max's leg where he still has faint signs of his 3 (yes, 3!) accidents.

The afternoon light makes the Golden Glow really live up to its name.

You can see particularly well how it glows in the late sunshine in this photo. Some of it always manages to escape the fence and flop, but that just adds to its charm.

I'm sneaking in a few more kitty pictures. Here's Max, or Riley (?) having an afternoon snack.

And just to break up all the yellow, here's young Miss Fiona, having a bit of fun.

Pretty Madelaine is Jasmine's sister, and shy Jasper is Fiona's brother.

I'll say goodnight with another picture of the afternoon light. I love this time of day when everything seems to glow. No wonder the Scots call it "The Gloaming" - an apt name indeed.
I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!