Despite this rather nice sunset on the 20th, the summer is off to a rainy start here in the PNW.
It was cold, grey and nasty and rained most of the day on the 21st :


                               

Although some things look very pretty with a few rain drops: 🎵 raindrops on (my) roses 🎶 (and whiskers on kittens) ...   

                                   

We didn't exactly wash away but it was a steady rain and we accumulated almost an inch .. (my rain gauge has a tiny crack in the bottom so it shows a little less than it actually got).

                                                                                      

Meanwhile ... at Stonehenge, they had beautiful weather:

... and how about the sunrise behind the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire     State Building in New York City ... gorgeous!

Oh well, apparently they're going to have a heatwave in the coming days over there (temps > 100F) so I guess a cloudy and cold mid-summer might not be so bad after all ..

Anyway ... happy Summer Solstice!

(The summer solstice by the way, has a little extra special meaning for James and I since this was the day of our first kiss ... 26 years ago ... wow, time, where has it gone?)

It has been very quiet for the rest of the week, nothing much happening. 
I'm still babying my ankle, which has much improved but will no doubt take several more weeks to be up to par, as in not wobbly or occasionally painful (especially in the evenings).
I'm keeping it taped during the day which feels good and gives me a little more stability.

These two different purple wildflowers are growing all over our meadows and I'd forgotten their names:

           

But than I remembered the nifty plant-app on my phone and voila ... the one on the left turns out to be Vicia or 'Hairy Vetch' (how about that for a name) and the other one is Prunella, aka 'Self-Heal'. 
Now not to forget this ...

        

Here's a picture of what happens when you forget to 'score' your sourdough bread:

It bursts open willy-nilly, to let the build-up steam escape, and makes for a really ugly looking bread!
Fortunately it cut up in surprisingly decent slices and it tasted just fine, so no big deal. 
Note to self; next time .. SCORE!

I finished the hilarious spa-puzzle:

                

                                        ... and started this beautiful butterfly-one:

                                       Only 500, very large pieces and a good variety of colors.
Should be simple, she said ..

(bwahahaha!)