Not As Hot...

 ... but rainy. The morning was dry but clouded up pretty quickly and the afternoon and evening was off and on rain. Naturally OJ had a soccer game and his loyal fans were seated on the sidelines, umbrellas in hand. We all got pretty wet, not as wet as OJ, but wet enough to be chilled on the drive home. I caught a picture of the male Oriole in the rain. He was not happy but didn't let being wet deter him from snacking on the grape jelly. He'd hop up to the top of the crook, shake off the water and fluff his feathers, then go back to the jelly dish.

Before it started raining I went out and filled all the feeders. It didn't take long for the Sparrows to discover the fresh suet pellets and suet cakes. They wasted no time landing on the feeder and pecking away.

I also took a picture of the line of blooming Stella d'Oro lilies along the retaining wall. I wish the woman that owns the place would get out there and weed but she doesn't seem to be able to make herself go out there in the heat and the rain. Maybe if it was in the low 70s she'd be more inclined.

Oh, I'm really happy with today's watercolor. I took my time and drew and painted slowly, letting the paint dry between steps just like the directions said to do, and I really like the way it all turned out. I like the branch (stick). I like the feeder. I like the bird. And best of all this Bluebird looks like a North American Bluebird. Finally, a bird I recognize.

I gave myself the day off from working on the manuscript. My brain feels mushy and I can't think of what to write next so I took the day off. I even put the day off on my Gratitude Journal page. Along with the wet soccer game and a couple other things.

I have to say that I kind of enjoyed sitting on the side of the soccer field in the rain. LC sat next to me and her umbrella dripped rain all down my side through the game. Fortunately it wasn't a particularly cold rain so I didn't get chilled until I got into the car and the a/c came on. I turned it off when I started shivering. At one point it started raining on the other side of the field long enough before it started raining on us that we could hear the rain but not feel it. Very interesting. Naturally the players were soaked but they played on. 

--Barbara