Thanks to classical clark for this photo.
Porches
The table will receive
Summer drinks;
They wait, arranged,
Strange and polite.
On the back porch
Garden tools spill;
An empty basket
Leans to one side;
Porches
On the front porch
Chairs sit still;
The watering can
Rusts among friends.
-Valerie Worth
Thanks to luvs2chick for this photo.
Before they began Kit heard there was a big, yellow cat in the yard and he came out to investigate. My important job (while not taking photos) was to secure all animals in the house. 
This tree was the biggest one to come down. We were concerned because it had to fall between a light pole and another tree. 
Timber and a perfect landing! DH knew what he was doing! 
The second tree came down easily and 
I even caught it as it was falling to the driveway.
All it takes is the sound of a chainsaw or the running of a cat to bring other guys from the neighborhood to see if they can help. The whole crew gathered around this tree in the garden to figure out where it would fall.
Here JEJ is running the chainsaw on the last tree to fall.
The guys gathered around after this last tree went down to solve the problems of the world.
DH moved the slash into a big pile, but JEJ's work is certainly just beginning. Next we wait for the logging truck to come and load the logs.
I fulfilled my duties by keeping the animals in although Annie wasn't too happy here. I also got lots of photos and JEJ presented me with a lovely pine cone cluster that he knew I would want to photograph.
I love the shiny texture of cones fresh off the tree.
"The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life." ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Today we had our neighbor over for a casual breakfast gathering on the deck. Nothing fancy, no gourmet dishes, no new brunch recipes. We enjoyed simple food, a lovely morning, good conversation, and some fresh picked peppers from the garden to add to the eggs. This is a fine way to start the day.
Planning bloom times is a challenge for flower gardeners. When I used to just plant annuals I was safe because usually something was in full bloom. When I first tried bulbs and perennials I was just happy when things came back the second year and bloomed again.
I have tried recently to pick plants that have different bloom times. I hate it when you have June glorious roses to nothing until the mums bloom in September. Last fall I ordered a set of lilies called " All Summer Lily Mix." 
It was a mix of lilies that had different bloom times so they just overlapped each other. I have loved not having all my lilies bloom in the same week and then be done. This mix has really worked out. I started having blooms in late June and they are advertised to bloom until September. I don't know the names of any of the specific lilies pictured here.
These blooms are perfect subjects for my photography 101 sessions I have been trying squeeze in each day as I learn how to do different things with my camera.
I found this lily mix in the van Bourgondien catalog. You can find it online at www.dutchbulbs.com.
This photo was taken by my niece Z2 during her stay here recently. I think we can survive the dog days of summer with these flowers greeting us each day.
"The radiance in some places is so great as to be fairly dazzling... every crystal, every flower a window opening into heaven, a mirror reflecting the Creator. "John Muir
I am not a big fan of the dog days of summer. I was talking to the librarian today when I dropped books off and she stated, " I hate this time of year... it is so hot and everything is brittle and dry. Fire danger is high, water is scarce.... just give me winter any time!" Perhaps winter wouldn't be my first choice of season, but definitely fall or spring. The dog days of summer keep everyone where I live on edge. 
When the woods and fields are dry and water sometimes gets scarce it is a time when neighbors watch out for neighbors knowing a cigarette tossed carelessly out a car window could cause a blaze. Lightening storms can create beauty as they light up the sky, but can also spell danger. Knowing we need summer heat for our vegetables and annual flowers to bloom, I also know these plants need that critical cooling off period during the night to gear up for another hot day. Dog day summer nights don't provide that break so plants get stressed and their growth can stagnate. 
With a sultry feel to the air the dog days of summer urge animals to go undercover. We find our cats in the oddest places during the day. We always try to check before we set a sprinkler so one doesn't get soaked when water is turned on. The dogs can't go for car rides as often and both tend to sleep much more as the temperatures during the day rise.
When I was younger I worshiped the sun. We would lay out and get tans, stay in the water on air mattresses for hours on end and never think twice about any dangers the sun or heat might bring. Now I move through the dog days of summer with more ease by finding that campsite enclosed in the trees, wading in the creek down the trail from out site, reading and writing inside during the hot afternoon, enjoying the animals and sitting outside during the last hours of daylight, or work at getting up earlier to work outside when the air is cooler.