The bees are humming by the hundreds through the orchard, not for the grass, most of that is brown and dead, but for the much more hardy Dandelions that have pretty much taken over ..

They're not 'true' Dandelions by the way but False Dandelions, aka Flatweed or Cat's Ears.
They really mystified James, to the point he thought he was loosing it, since they would not be there in the morning when he would leave, than had appeared when he would pass them at lunch around 12 but were all gone again when he would go back to work at 1pm.
Turns out they need about 3 hours of warmth/sunshine before they will open, after which they physically can not close for about 4 hours and than, regardless of sunshine or not, they have to close. It's in their DNA, how funny is that?

 

After a couple of weeks they all go to seed .. James was thinking to mow before they do that but I think that's already too late .. I don't mind, I love that yellow carpet!

Despite it being summer I still feed the birds and squirrels and the ground-squirrels, who are the bossiest of the lot, are getting fatter by the day ..



Look at those buttocks!

                                                                 

He goes through a whole bunch of peanuts in no-time, stuffing them all in his cheeks.
He looks rather ridiculous:

Look what came in the mail?

I can travel again! Weirdly enough I could leave the country but not re-enter without an American passport since I became a citizen.
You'd think I could enter with my Dutch passport since any Dutch person (which I still am) can stay 90 days without a visa but now that I'm (also) an American I have to enter with an American passport.
Oh, well. I'm all set now.

Something else arrived as well:

Yes, those are hearing aids! Don't they look like sleek and futuristic?
They're Eargo 5's and they're the smallest in-canal, rechargeable hearing aid on the market.

One of the best things about Eargo is that it’s all available virtually, from start to finish. Not only is your consultation free, but you don’t have to leave your house for the appointment.

Customer service includes (free) Telecare checkups via video or phone, depending on what you’re most comfortable with. They are rechargeable and come with the latest hearing technology, including a smartphone application.

Besides all that, they're truly invisible:

                                                                        

                           You see that tiny little thread, that's what you grab to take them out.

As for why? Well, over the last couple of years I've been gradually loosing quite some of my hearing to the point that I started to have problems following conversations, having to ask people to repeat themselves, turning up the sound of the TV and, as I discovered lately, hearing actors on stage in the theater!
Hearing aids are incredibly expensive though, let alone the invisible ones, and I thought the others rather cumbersome sitting behind your ear while wearing glasses and, as of lately, masks!

Than I had an idea, how about used? A quick search on eBay learned you can indeed get them used for a fraction of the price. I know, that's probably not for everybody but I'm not squeamish and was more than happy to get this (only used a few times) pair for $750 instead of the $2450 they cost new!

After receiving, we played around with the settings a little and gradually let my ears get used to having something in them, but now I barely feel them anymore and boy, can I hear! It's amazing, and at times a little overwhelming, but I'm very happy I got them.
And yes, I'm fairly young, but it is what it is and I read an article not too long ago about hearing-related memory loss (even dementia), so I think it's a good thing to do this now.

Last but not least, we celebrated our 22nd anniversary on the 19th! I'm shocked every year to realize how long we've been married for. It never seems possible ..

We went to a new-to-us little French restaurant in Carlton and we had escargots, tomato bisque, a Moroccan lamb stew, halibut and a flour-less chocolate pie ..

 

                                                      

The dinner was excellent and the company, even after 22 years, the best!