We're finally seeing some bees around here.
Probably due to the cold and wet spring there haven't been too many but with the warmer weather of lately and the Queen Ann's Lace flowering all around us, they seem to be flying around a lot more.

We still don't see much wildlife here at all though.
The deer that came by almost every evening in June when my sister was here, are not showing up anymore and other than just one coyote I spotted in the fields a couple of days ago, I'm not seeing much else ..

Or .. wait .. there's something after all!
There's two small ground squirrels, I expect they're this year's young ones, that live inside the big oak next to us:

                                                            

It's always fun to watch their antics and they're so darn cute!

I've got a few Morning Glory flowers popping up every now and than and a pot with Petunias is still alive and flowering profusely but other than those none of this years plants are very happy.
I wonder if it's the soil we got in bulk this spring at Winco and which I filled every pot and raised bed with ..?

           


Mid-summer is the time for all the county fairs and rodeos to take place, especially in rural areas, and we always try to go to one. Nothing says Summer more than a fair!
This year we picked the one in Yamhill county to visit.

 

It's not a large fair by any means but all the usual events are taking place.
Of course there was the carnival midway with carnival games and some amusement rides:

And the 4-H and FFA shows & agricultural and livestock exhibits:

It was a hot day and this girl shared an ice-cream with the pig(let) she raised:

Of course we had some fair-food, although we kept it somewhat 'healthy' by having Filipino food instead of the curly fries and hamburgers ..

                                                                                              
... followed by a funnel cake with blackberries and cream. No sugar in this of course ..!

After strolling through 'vendor-row' for a bit we made our way to the arena where the rodeo was to take place.
It started at 6.15 and it was still very warm. We were sitting in the bleachers at the general seating area .. no shade at all!

                

I always get goose-bumps at the opening ceremonies of these rodeos, the flags, the horses, the national anthem .. it's all very impressive and rather emotional:

 

First up: bareback bronc riding .. always a spectacle!

                                       

Followed by calf-roping:

 
 

Throwing a lasso from a galloping horse to a fast moving target and than tying it's legs together .. not as easy!

I would have loved to see the bull riding, my favorite, but after an hour in the still blazing sun on the hard, unforgiving bleachers, we gave up and went home.
Thanks the heavens for air-conditioning!

Fortunately temps have come down a bit and next week's forecast is looking even 'cooler' with temps in the high seventies. I'll take it!
In the meantime I'm holed up in the RV in the afternoon and watch the recorded events of that night and the live events of the day.
After a slow start and some disappointing losses Holland is finally hauling in medals in bicycling, rowing and sailing.

                             And how about that Femke Bol! What an athlete!