West-side of the house with fresh stain.  This shaded and covered side doesn't weather as quickly as the exposed sides but Cliff was so pleased with the rich crisp look of the rest of the house, he decided to stain this side, too.  We still have the whole porch floor to do on a day with no chance of wind and rain.

Watching hummingbirds battle and relaxing on the porch.
Made a wonderful vegetarian chili, enough to freeze for another meal.

Too many ingredients to type into the post.  Lots of good spices and vegetables.  The recipe can be found on foodnetwork.com vegetarian chili, recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse.  Definitely worth it.

Hummingbird migration time is coming closer, but for now we still see at least four females and one male terrorizing each other daily.  They're so intent on guarding their territory, that they chase each other flying just inches away from us, twittering and darting in and out of the porch rails.   The one-quart size pineapple sage that I planted by the porch stairs in the spring has bloomed again giving  them another place to stake their claim.

 This female perches on the rain gauge just in front of the red nectar-rich flowers waiting to challenge any bird that thinks it's going to drink from her plant.  Dwindling daylight hours determine when hummingbirds migrate south.  According to our past records, we figure we have about two more weeks of enjoyment before the last one packs her bag and travels south.

 We're at it again, melting the iceberg at the back of the Samsung.  Third time in about 6 years.  Cliff guarantees this fridge will not be in the kitchen next year at this time. 

Two more days until Harrah's Casino in Murphy opens at 2 pm!!!   Ka-ching!!  Ka-ching!!