Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, Chess the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with even though I’m totally traumatized by the weather, and here to bring you the latest thundery news from our garden. You may remember me from such posts as “Stormy Weather”, and “The Weather, Again”, among so many, many other such posts.
Here I am in a characteristic, but rare, pose. I know, “How can a pose be both characteristic and rare at the same time?” Well, it can be. “Characteristic” considering my life in general, but “rare” for this summer. I’m sitting out on the patio rug, in the sun (believe it or not), though the rug is soaking wet from yesterday’s rain. We purebred border collies are used to roughing it. This is me roughing it. 
Even though it looked like this at about two in the afternoon,
it was still a beautiful day. This is a picture of part of the garden in the sun. The yellow deal is a bag for thistle seed, for the goldfinches. I think they think it’s weird, and we haven’t seen many hanging from it. Usually there are dozens of goldfinches, so maybe the old one should be fixed, if it can be fixed. 
About seven in the evening the light got all weird, because a storm was coming. You know those people who talk about the same thing over and over again, and you have a conversation with them, desperately hoping that their favorite subject won’t be brought up again, but it always is, no matter how much you try to avoid it; well, that’s what this summer has been like for me. Beautiful day, but not for the whole day. Someone just had to bring up that subject again. 
The guy I live with took some pictures in the weird light. We could hear thunder up in the mountains, so I sensibly stayed in my fort. They say you can get hit by lightning if you hear thunder, even though this was way up in the mountains, and echoed down the slopes and canyons. My fort was the best place to be.
the trough patio, kind of overgrown with catmint. seed frame in the middle.
sedum ‘Matrona’
the north border in the “way back”
The light got weirder.
looking toward the shed; the garden isn’t as messy as it looks
path in the rock garden
The guy I live with said rain was coming. See the streaks? 
I know where to be, in case that happens. 
The weird light went away, of course, and then this happened. For once, it didn’t matter that things didn’t look in focus. As you can see, I have a movie for you. If this were longer, it would definitely need popcorn. White cheddar popcorn for me, please. But served in my fort. There’s plenty of room for both me and a pile of white cheddar popcorn in my fort. I even get my dinner served to me there.
Anyway, the movie. I do know this is kind of weird, in keeping with today’s theme, but it wasn’t my idea.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 