Busy June

We've been busy all June (especially Leo), selling hotdogs and icecream to raise money for ALS.

Sunflower Splendour

In late May we drove out to the Junction Sheep Reserve to see the blooming balsamroot.  I might say this every year, but it did seem like this was the most spectacular bloom yet!

Leo and Mark went for a run and Leah and I walked.

Dos Amigos

In a few places the larkspur were starting to bloom:

On the lake again

Margaret Ann and Lady joined us for another paddle on Williams Lake a week after our inaugural ride.  We haven't gotten any more efficient at putting our Klepper together, but we did have more padding so the seats were more comfortable.

Spirit Animal

I was delighted to find two large toads in the well of our irrigation connections.

Then I proceeded to drown them out by turning on the sprinkler.  So I had to give them a hand to hop out.  Here's one:

And here's the other:

I hope they stick around and control my slug problem!

Another Bee

I think this is the brown-belted bumblebee (Bombus griseocollis) seen here getting up close and personal with a rock cress flower.

Blossom Time

My sour cherry trees are in bloom today.

I followed this bumble bee around for quite a while, trying to snap a picture before it moved on to another blossom:

Looks like this is probably the orange-rumped bumblebee (Bombus melanopygus). 

Inaugural Voyage

We finally put our new collapsible kayak in the water on Friday.  It took us an hour to assemble it (but this will get faster as we become more familiar with the process.  Above Leo installs the rudder.

We are pleased to say that it floats.

It's also quite nimble and fast.  But the seats are incredibly uncomfortable so we'll have to do something about that.

In other news, a great tailed grackle was spotted at a feeder near Scout Island.  A first sighting ever.  Let's hope it's not the first of a coming invasion.  These are the noisiest birds you can find, from Southern California down to Mexico.