Blue balloon flowers

_{(Click photo for larger version)}

These balloon flowers, named for the shape of the flower buds (see photo at left), are my favorites every year. I love the bright blue color and prominent veins of the petals, and enjoy viewing and taking photos of them every summer. Although they look purple in the photos, the flowers really are blue. They are perennial, bloom from summer until early fall, and are very easy to care for. These plants, also known as Chinese Bellflowers, form small mounds about 12 inches tall, with many flowers per plant. The deep blue color always makes them stand out in the flower beds.

While they are known to be hard to propagate by division, I have had luck with dividing a large clump of them once. I just pulled up a small section of the mound right after they finished blooming, cut a section with several roots, and replanted it elsewhere. It came back the following summer and both clumps are doing fine. I’ve collected a huge amount of seeds from these flowers, but never got around to planting them — I may plant some seeds this fall and see how they do. They really are gorgeous flowers.

^{All photos are clickable for larger versions.}

Free Jericho avatars

Free Jericho avatars

These 100×100 avatars (many more to choose from, at the site) were created for Jericho fans, and anyone may use them, or create your own and have them uploaded to the Jericho Wiki Fan Art page. Thanks to the Jericho Times weekly newsletter for the info and the link to the free avatars.

Jericho returns, summer schedule

The first season of Jericho will be rebroadcast this summer on CBS. The show will air on Fridays, at 9pm est, beginning July 6th. Season 2 will start this fall! Be sure and watch this awesome show, and see why its cancellation prompted one of the biggest fan campaigns in history to save a tv show!

Press release from CBS Entertainment in regards to Jericho’s summer schedule.

On July 13, CBS will present back-to-back broadcasts beginning with “Return to Jericho” (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), which recapped the first 11 episodes, followed by episode 12, “The Day Before” (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), which launched “Jericho’s” spring return.The remaining summer broadcasts will consist of episodes 13–22, in which tensions continue to escalate between Jericho and the neighboring town of New Bern as they battle the Kansas winter, dwindling resources and the uncertainty of a new world. The citizens of Jericho must now find a way to unite against these hardships, working together to preserve their community.

Everyone should watch this show! Thanks to CBS for listening to the fans and giving Jericho another chance, it is such a refreshing change from all the reality tv shows, and around-the-clock celebrity “news” on most networks… This summer schedule is a great opportunity for all who missed it the first season to get caught up, just in time to start watching the new episodes in the fall.

June nights

_{photo © terra incognita, quote by Bern Williams}

This photo is one of several I took a few days ago, right at sunset, near my house. The sky was glowing orange-pink and the clouds were dark purple. To see a larger version of this same photo, click here.

Pink rose

Click photo for a larger version.

My grandmother gave me a small section of one of these old-fashioned pink roses many years ago. I took a cutting from that one, and now I have two of these bushes. The one pictured is from a bush that grows along a fence line surrounding my yard, the other I have at the edge of the other side of the yard. They are thriving, and are very pretty right now.

How perfect is your life?

Your Life is 85% Perfect

You truly have the perfect life. And you probably feel like the luckiest person in the world. You have a great career, family, and personal life. You have it going on!

How Perfect is Your Life?

Find more silly blog things here. :-)