Under the Solano Sun

We had a surprise visitor in the middle of the day a couple of weeks ago. Stretched out across our tiny patch of grass in our backyard was a large snake. He or she had yellow stripes running the length of both sides of the dark brown body, round pupils and no rattles. Whew! Not a rattlesnake.

In early July my husband and I were in Renton Washington, a community near Seattle. We went for a late afternoon walk along a lakeside park called Coulon Beach Park. It's a lovely park that is beautifully landscaped.

A lot of us have allergies. I seem to have allergies most of the year. So, it does make gardening a challenge at times when my eyes are watery, nose running and sneezing. But as gardeners, we continue to garden. There is a book written by Thomas Leo Ogren titled Allergy-Free Gardening.

I have been trying to take really good care of all my plants this summer, doing all the things that they should like. The plants look healthy, but many have different types of leaf damage. The main culprits are Whiteflies, Harlequin Bugs, Earwigs, and Slugs/Snails.

A lot of us have allergies. I seem to have trouble most of the year. So it does make gardening a challenge at times when your eyes are watery, runny nose and sneezing. But as gardeners, we continue to garden. There is a book written by Thomas Leo Ogren titled Allergy-Free Gardening.