Wow.

We just had a downpour for about 15 minutes, including some hail. The wind was crazy and the cats were nervous. Now the sun is out and the birds are singing. Wow. The forces of nature are amazing... too bad we're doing our best/worst to destroy her... but I think she'll have the last laugh.

Our flowers, herbs and raspberries are growing great this year with all the rain and sun. I always think to take pictures (and with a professional photographer for a husband we have enough cameras laying around), but somehow I never get around to it. I even took his beginner's photography class... Roxy loved when I used her to test out the new knowledge I learned in the class. She is such a diva with great poses and wonderful expressions.

We have grape vines growing over some of the raspberries. My plan for today, if S. is not too tired when he gets home, is to put some lattice up and replant the grapes in front of it.
We also got some Lupine (also called Lupin) flower seeds from a friend's mom when we went up to Eagle River. She has a farm house with a huge yard filled with gorgeous plants. I'm excited to see what color the Lupines come up as... she had yellow, pink, purple, white, and orange.

Today also begins our adventure in cooking with dried beans. We covered them in water last night and they are currently waiting to be put into the slow cooker and turned into baked beans.
Some friends of ours brought these to a party we had two years ago (actually they came a day late, and truth be told it was even more fun talking, eating and drinking with just them!) and they were delicious. We've had the recipe sitting in our email inbox since then just waiting for us.