Parasite + Host.

I came across this on my tomato plant last night. My first reaction was "Wow, that is a REALLY weird looking caterpillar." I spent a few minutes searching for information on it and learned that it wasn't just a caterpillar, it was a Tomato Hornworm covered in Braconid Wasp eggs. Turns out that the little wasps inside the eggs feed off of the caterpillar that is feeding off of my tomato plant. Eventually the caterpillar will die, the wasps will hatch and the cycle begins again. A bummer for the caterpillar, but a welcome event in our garden. 

"Our 'can-do' American spirit is being lost."

I wholeheartedly agree with that. 

A friend of mine posted this and I felt like it was a good counterpart to the video I posted several days ago. 

Summer suns.

Something I tend to love about any weekday is my drive to work. The time by myself, singing aloud to whatever music I happen to be drawn to at the moment, windows down in the cooler morning air.  I like getting to see our neighborhood waking up.

One house in particular has caught my eye recently because of the huge sunflower bush growing in front of it. It made me a little sad that I hadn't planted any this year because it's a bit of a tradition of mine. I've had sunflowers every summer since the year I first moved into the Teal House and had a porch to grow plants on. To me, sunflowers are summer. 

I have this drawing that I did early this spring hanging in my office at work. I'm glad it can bring a little summer into my work day.

(Past sunflowers: here, here, and here.)

Kayaking + a disposable camera.

My team at AG took a kayaking trip yesterday. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. We laughed. A lot. I brought along a disposable camera.

This is beautiful. This is the way life should be lived.

The 4th.

Sitting in our favorite coffee shop on the morning of the 4th, I was starting to regret not making plans to go to my hometown of Wellington to see the annual parade and celebration. It's been years since I've been there for it, and it was such a constant in my childhood. But, the heat advisory was making me think that passing up the opportunity was the right decision. We had even opted to drive for coffee instead of walking that morning.

Instead, taking advantage of a day that we both had off from work, we spent several hours working on repairing the walls and ceiling of our office. The air conditioning was later abandoned to go spend the evening with friends, food, and fireworks. Our friend Amy just moved into a house on the lakefront. Literally, the lake is in her backyard. From there we could see a handful of fireworks shows up and down the coast. No crowds, no deafening booms, just relaxing on the grass with the sound of waves. It was ideal.

And did I mention that I also met a wiener dog named Taco?

Yep. 

(More photos here.)

Waterloo Arts Fest.

Some of my friends and I braved the heat yesterday to spend a few hours at the Waterloo Arts Fest. I love the overwhelming amount of Cleveland pride that lives in this up and coming area.