Keeping Up with the Kardigans

It's time for another episode of Keeping Up with the Kardigans! I haven't been blogging very much lately as the heat has kept us house bound with little new to take pictures of! The boys don't venture too far on the moring walks when it's 90 and very humid at nine in the morning.

There's been an awful lot of napping going on. Here's Jimmy, keeping one eye on his favorite toy, even as he snoozes.

I posted this on FaceBook but in case you missed it.....check out how huge my Elephant Ear plant grew. It really took over the spot where I put it. A thunderstorm pretty much did it in soon after this photo, but no biggie. It will come back next summer. Even now, it is sending up fresh leaves!

Now these next photos are for Mary at Tales from the Back Road. She always delights us with her photos of the old time West. When I saw this old gravel mill on the shores of the Potomac River, I had to play with the photos to get that bygone era feeling!

Next up.....we did have a short break in the hot weather with two glorious, low-humidity days. I went for a good long hike with a friend in the Catoctin Mountain National Park. It was five plus miles of very hilly, rocky terrain and I found out just how out of shape I am! But it was wonderful to be in the deep woods on a beautiful day! We saw almost no other hikers despite the nice weather. That made it even better! This is one forest you feel quite safe in as the  presidential retreat Camp David is here. Additionally, thanks to Camp David's large no-fly zone, the forest is free from the sounds of airplanes! So great to hear nothing but forest sounds! The hike was way too vigorous for the boys, so unfortunately they stayed home. But, this is one National Park where your dogs are welcome on the trails! Here I am cooling off at a waterfall....

I'll finish up with this picture of a weird fungus growing near my house. It is so incredibly colorful!

And a Hibiscus from my garden....

 Have a great weekend, Everyone!