Dahlia Awe

How awesome is this beauty? Bloom as big as my hand...I wish it were mine, but it was at the nursery. Love!

Action!

 One SKWERL a-leapin' ...

(Oh, Tallulah Mae, thinking about you--she would have gone ballistic!)

Fried Egg

 This is a matilija poppy, also known as the fried egg plant, for obvious reasons. So pretty!

Happy Fourth

 The obligatory blurry fireworks...

 Milkshakes!

 Gin and tonic made with purple gin.

 The neighborhood parade, now in its 20th year, featuring kids on scooters, babies in wagons, and dogs wearing bandanas. It's the best!

Cute Bumbershoot

 The PERFECT umbrella for me--and it was only $6.00 at the thrift shop. Hurray!

Hello, Oriole!

 Because we were traveling in March, I did not put out the oriole feeder this year--but lo and behold, a lovely male Bullock's oriole in the palm tree the next street over. Isn't he lovely? I may still put the feeder out to see if he'll come visit our yard.

Jaw, Dropped...Breath, Taken

 At first the sunset on Saturday just looked as if it were going to be a glowing sky...

 But then...

This happened! 

OMG! Breathtaking.