Smudge went in for his regular checkup today. Every couple of weeks he gets blood work done to monitor his hyper-thyroid. Prior to him getting in the carrier, Roxie jumped in. I had to coax her out of it. Smudge gained 2 lbs since he was diagnosed, and she doesn't want him to gain any more. He's doing great. But now she hears a heart murmur and his heart is racing so she's concerned about high blood pressure. If his thyroid is behaving and he gets to cut back or come off of that, and his blood pressure is still high, he'll be put on that. He also needs dental cleaning done, but at those prices, that's not going to happen soon!

I thought of your beautifully colored houses (and boathouses!) yesterday, Casey, as I drove through one of our Pennsylvania towns . . . all white. Color really is uplifting. (I should talk . . . my farmhouse is beige. LOL) My mom (and a rock) in 1945.

This year I'm trying again to grow the Asclepia tuberosa (orange), bought from a local nursery. Seems I don't have much luck, perhaps it's where I try to grow them. I have a tall stemmed variety with the pink blooms in the orchard by the pergola, it has been happy there for quite a few years. The milkweed with the large pods that one sees growing along the roads in the ditches etc, is the type I have the most of. It grows by the edge of the yard by the field. Mostly the black and orange bugs cover the blooms, rarely do I see a Monarch! One day I hope to find cats.

Jim I can almost smell it! One of my favorite scents.