Can you guess what’s for lunch?  The squash plants are making up for lost time.  There are still some snow peas, and plenty of herbs like basil and oregano.  And the flowers are getting very enthusiastic after the rain.

I was feeling devilish yesterday, as in deviled eggs.  Mine are quite wicked.

Here are your daily required flowers.  I’m determined to get this allium right.  The pumpkin blossoms put on quite a show.  And here is my latest favorite poppy, and other flowers.

Out in the jungle holly, the berries and wild grapes are getting ready to ripen.  It remains to be seen who will get to them first, all the birds and bunnies who live in the jungle holly, or us.

While the young suffragettes and their Dad reenacted the historic women’s votes parade in Knoxville, we did our part keeping an eye on the boy folk on the foothill.  Mostly that entailed keeping up with the little demolition expert, while his big brother did his gamer thing.

The cats have gotten very good at finding out-of-the-way shelves to hide.

Later, we did pizza-and-a-movie, featuring me under a pile of kids, and bedtime, always an insane circus.

Here’s the sun setting from their deck, and back home, the daily morning bouquet.

Look, more flowers!  Especially poppies!  It’s like a rainbow out here.

The world seems so much emptier without Anthony Bourdain and his crazy adventures.  We grew to love his exploits, and looked forward to every new episode.  He had a refreshing rebel take on life, the universe, and everything.  I guess we’ll just have to drink heavily in his absence, to “no reservations”.

My son, who originally turned me on to Anthony, along with many other inspiring people and ideas, got to spend another workday and erev with us, so we could all commiserate over (and drink to) our mutual loss.  I made one of my infamous Indian meals.  It was fun being able to share another first together, however sad.

Here are some memorial flowers.  Note the poppies, one of my favorites.

We’re really enjoying sharing our home, office, and garden with my son this week (and any week).  We’re happy to have something to offer, and to just be able to hang out as a family under one roof.  I wish…well, lots of things that don’t always stay the same, but for now it’s all I’d pictured and hoped for when we moved here.

This morning, this perfect spider web greeted me.  And of course, you guessed it, flowers.

It’s nice having my son working from his Knoxville branch, our office!  It works out well for him and us.  He gets to work, have meetings, eat, and rest, closer to the kids’ daytime location, and we get to provide a quiet space, feed him, and share our garden!

Speaking of which, here are our first zucchinis of the season, and obligatory flower shots.

Zut alors!  I mean, zucs galore!  Baby zucchinis are busting out, with lots more in our future, if the blossoms are any indication.  The other flowers are more colorful by the day.

We are happy to be able to host (and feed) my son, who is working from my office today and this week, while the kids are in summer day camp and daycare.  It must seem awfully quiet to him, aside from all our hacking and wheezing!

Just some random plant life down on the homestead–salad greens from the garden, the giant allium, garden flowers, and orchids thriving in the southern sunrise.

Naturally, my cell cam couldn’t capture this phenomenon, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.  We were up on Avdi’s foothill yesterday evening, playing with the kids, when there was a typical sudden sun shower.  We all dashed outside on the deck to discover an amazing sight–a rainbow right below us in the bushes and trees!  We could almost touch it.  No pot of gold, though, at least visible.  Whether a sign, I don’t know, but it was a wonder.