Cactus in the rain

I know... sometimes it doesn't take much to get me excited. This is a nice close-up I took with the "fancy" camera, which I'm finally getting the hang of. When I wrote about planting this weird paper spine cactus on June 22, I didn't realize it would grow these cute looking mini spines so fast. You might remember my sister sent me a dusty box of starts from her cactus garden in Las Vegas. I've kept it outside on the front porch, where it baked all summer long. It must be almost indestructible in the desert, but time will tell when rain and gloom return to Seattle.

Speaking of rain, we've had a few surprise showers this week, and much more expected for the weekend. The days are noticeably shorter, and it's harder to convince yourself that 4:40 AM is actually morning, instead of the middle of the night (which it is.) The irony of Seattle gardening is right when the begonias, zinnias and dahlias are at their peak, the rains start and the heavy plants bend to the ground. Fall is a nice season though, except for the massive garden clean-up ahead! Who can complain since we just had the most beautiful summer ever in Seattle.

So, tomorrow we're heading east again to the Methow Valley to spend Labor Day weekend with Amanda, Tom and of course our little Nova. I can hardly wait to hold her again, and will post more cute baby pictures soon!